The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently allowed Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth to go back into effect.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Charles Wilson stated, “This matter is a medical issue, where patients are best left to make decisions alongside health professionals, with access to complete, unbiased information, as needed.”
Wilson’s words demonstrate how bans like the one in Florida not only affect transgender individuals, but also disrupt health professionals’ ability to communicate with patients about evidence-based care.
While we should not forget transgender youths and their families are the central target of these bans, the legislation also interferes with healthcare providers’ ability to do their jobs. The systemic impact of these providers’ moral distress, and the medical brain drain and burnout that follows, means that these bans affect every single person in this country seeking health care.