Florida releases new guidance on gender dysphoria in children, disputes Biden HHS

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The Florida Department of Health issued new guidance on the treatment of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents, claiming that the Biden administration is getting it all wrong when it comes to treating young people.

In response to a Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet that endorsed puberty blockers and "partially reversible" hormone therapy as methods of "affirming care" for minors, Florida’s guidance said there is a lack of evidence to support such approaches. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo blasted the Biden administration for its approach to this issue, asserting that it is based in politics.

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"The federal government's medical establishment releasing guidance failing at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care," Ladapo said in a statement. "It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children. Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18."

Newly appointed state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at Neo City Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.  (Photo by Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images) (Photo by Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Fox News reached out to HHS for comment but they did not immediately respond.

The new state guidance said that "[s]ystematic reviews on hormonal treatment for young people show a trend of low-quality evidence, small sample sizes, and medium to high risk of bias."

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The state declared that because evidence regarding such treatment is inconclusive but could have "long-term, irreversible effects,’ they recommend that social gender transition should not be an available method of treatment for adolescents or younger children, and that puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender reassignment surgery should not be used for minors.

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Current HHS guidance recommends puberty blockers for kids going through puberty, hormone therapy for adolescents, and irreversible "gender-affirming" surgery on a "case-by-case" basis for adolescents but mainly for adults.

The Florida Department of Health also released a "Fact Check" sheet addressing HHS’s information. It said that the research HHS relied on to show that their recommended treatments improve mental health "cannot infer causation," and that there have been studies that produced insufficient evidence that puberty blockers or hormone therapy would improve children’s psychological wellbeing.