The issue has been pushed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run as his party’s presidential candidate.
In the US, lawmakers in the state of Florida have passed a bill that would ban doctors and healthcare professionals from providing sex reassignment treatments to transgender minors.
The Republican majority passed the bill in both the House and Senate despite opposition from Democrats.
Under the law, gender reassignment surgeries may no longer be performed on transgender minors, and they may no longer be offered, for example, hormone treatments that prevent the progression of puberty. The treatments aim to help with gender dysphoria, i.e. the strong feeling of bad feeling and anxiety caused by gender conflict, when a person does not identify with their biological sex.
The bill has been vehemently pushed by the state’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run as his party’s presidential candidate. The decision will be signed into law when DeSantis signs it.
The 44-year-old Republican rising star has promoted his conservative views on issues such as education, immigration and abortion rights.
The organizations were disappointed with the decision
– We can’t say something that doesn’t exist is true. We can’t change our gender, said the Republican representative Ralph Massullo during the debate in the House of Representatives, reports the Miami Herald.
– And for those children who are affected by this law, they cannot change their gender and they have to learn to understand that fact, he continued.
Several organizations were disappointed with the result of the vote held on Thursday.
– It is an attack on medical freedom and parental freedom, said a representative of Equality Florida, an organization that defends the interests of sexual and gender minorities Jon Harris.
“This crusade is about political aspirations, but it has real consequences for Florida families,” he continued.
Banning gender reassignment treatments has become a major political issue for the Republican Party. In recent months, a dozen Republican-led states have passed similar legislation.
Source: AFP