Florida healthcare providers and abortion clinics, including Planned Parenthood, have stopped providing transgender prescriptions and surgeries for adults in response to legislation signed into law on Wednesday.
The legislation prohibits sex change treatments for minors and limits who can provide transgender treatments for patients of any age.
Now, only physicians can treat those who say they are transgender — meaning that physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives can no longer offer these services.
The law went into effect immediately upon being signed.
The Hill reports, “Gender-affirming health care for adults, according to the new law, may only be administered once an informed consent form is signed, but the state medical boards tasked with drafting the forms have not yet done so, forcing health care providers across the state into a difficult position.”
This means that prescriptions can no longer be provided through telehealth services.
“It’s clear that the law was designed not only to restrict care for adults, but to cause an immediate gap in access — providers across the state are being forced to pause services because the law took effect immediately, and the state hasn’t promulgated the required consent forms needed to comply,” a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood told The Hill.
Planned Parenthood said that the pause is temporary and they expect to resume offering these services in mid-June.
Previously, the abortion organization had nurse practitioners providing transgender elective care.
“We will have to reorganize physician schedules, develop new consent forms with language that complies with the new requirements of the law, and change the delivery of that care as we are only allowed to offer telehealth for some appointments,” the organization said. “Our commitment to providing high-quality, compassionate care to our gender-affirming hormone therapy patients remains unwavering. We will navigate these changes together.”
Planned Parenthood are not the only clinics pausing the treatments.
“As a result of SB 254, and to meet the requirements set out by the State of Florida, it is with deep regret that we are no longer able to provide Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), surgical clearance letters and gender marker letters to our transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming patients,” 26Health, an LGBTQ health center in Orlando, said in a statement.
“While we are unable to provide these services at this time, 26Health firmly believes that our transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming community members deserve to live fully and openly as their truest selves,” the statement continues. “We will continue to provide care to our gender diverse community members including primary care and mental health services, which are incredibly important during this difficult climate.”
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
