Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) recently shared that he would prohibit sex changes for minors in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis made the remarks on Monday's episode of The Truth with Lisa Boothe podcast. Boothe asked the governor about the recent guidance released by the Florida Department of Health prohibiting minors from receiving gender transition surgery, puberty blockers and hormones.
"Would you support a state law banning any of those medical interventions for children?" she asked DeSantis.
"I would ban the ... Yeah, I would ban the sex-change ... the operations," he replied. "I think that it's something that you can't get a tattoo if you're 12 years old. When they say gender-affirming care, what they mean a lot of times is you are really- you're castrating a young boy, you're sterilizing a young girl, you're doing mastectomies for these very young girls.
"And here's the thing, what our guidance pointed to, and the Surgeon General did a great job, for these young kids, 80% of the cases resolve themselves as they grow up," he continued. "And so you're doing things that are permanently altering them, and then they're not gonna be able to reverse that."
DeSantis contended that transgender treatments are inappropriate for minors due to their age. He also claimed that there's "a concerted effort" in society to pressure kids into undergoing medical treatment.
"And so, I don't think it's appropriate for kids at all. I think the guidance is right, but I think that there should be additional protections," he said. "Cause you're growing up, there are things that- it's an awkward time, and it seems like there's a concerted effort in society to push these kids into do[ing] some type of medical intervention. And in our judgment, that's not healthy."
As reported by Fox News, Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, a trans-identified Biden official, recently asserted "there is no argument" about "gender-affirming care" between doctors and pediatricians whose primary focus is adolescents.
"There is no argument among medical professionals – pediatricians, pediatric endocrinologists, adolescent medicine physicians, adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, etc. – about the value and the importance of gender-affirming care," Levine told NPR.
As defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in March, gender-affirming care includes social affirmation at any age, puberty blockers throughout puberty, and hormone therapy beginning during early adolescence.
According to the agency, irreversible surgery is "typically used in adulthood or case-by-case basis in adolescence,"
Regarding the Florida guidance, Levine dismissed it as "based upon political considerations" and "not appropriate."
"We need to stand against that both from a medical and public health point of view," the Assistant Secretary of Health contended.
Related:
Florida Dept. of Health Releases Guidelines Prohibiting Transgender Treatments for Minors
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
