New law not only makes gender-affirming care for minors illegal but also adds intentionally burdensome barriers to care for adults

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV and AIDS healthcare organization, is joining other civil and human rights organizations in adamantly opposing Florida Senate Bill 254 while at the same time working to make sure transgender patients continue to receive the healthcare they need. The new law not only criminalizes gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18, but it also prohibits Medicaid coverage for minors and adults. In addition, SB-254 creates hurdles for initiating gender-affirming hormone therapy, including requiring a Florida-sanctioned informed consent to be on file – a form that does not yet exist – and requiring that consent to be signed in-person with a physician in the room.

“Creating barriers for people to access gender-affirming care not only is discriminatory and cruel, but it also forces individuals with sensitive healthcare issues to fall out of critical care,” said Dr. Bryan Gaudio, AHF’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer. “Furthermore, criminalizing doctors for doing their job creates a public health crisis. Medical decisions should be made by licensed healthcare providers in consultation with their patients, not politicians. It is appalling that public servants would create such discriminatory and divisive legislation as SB-254.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.7 million individuals in 45 countries in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to our Ahfter Hours podcast.

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Creating barriers to access gender-affirming care not only is discriminatory and cruel but also forces individuals with sensitive healthcare issues to fall out of care. Furthermore, criminalizing doctors for doing their job creates a public health crisis.