Florida lawmaker attacks bill banning trans surgeries for minors: ‘Erasing our trans babies!’
Julia Johnson
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A bill that would prohibit doctor’s offices from providing medications or surgical procedures for the purpose of gender transition for minors has been introduced in the Florida Senate. However, Democratic lawmakers in the state are protesting the measure.
SB 254 is part of a larger package of bills filed by Republican state Sen. Clay Yarborough on March 3.
The bill was introduced with the purpose of safeguarding “children from health, safety, and welfare impacts of radical social agendas.”
Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani slammed the bill during a protest, claiming, “You are erasing our trans babies!”
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Equality Florida press secretary Brandon Wolf called the bill a “transphobic slate of hate legislation.”
According to him, the package was “fueled by a sinister belief that transgender people are not real and that the levers of government should be weaponized in order to erase them.”
Other bills included are SB 1320 and SB 1438, which aim to ban classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from pre-K through eighth grade and prevent establishments from allowing children to attend live adult performances that feature nudity, sexual conduct, or lewd exposure, respectively.
“This legislation sends a strong message that Florida is a safe place to raise children. As the father of four young boys, I know that childhood is as special as it is short. Florida parents are worried about the radical, prurient agenda that has become pervasive across most forms of media, specifically targeting young children,” Yarborough said in a press release.
“We need to let kids be kids, and our laws need to set appropriate boundaries that respect the rights and responsibilities of parents while protecting children from the serious health, safety, and welfare consequences of social agendas that are totally inconsistent with how the overwhelming majority of parents want to raise their children,” he continued.
SB 254 would specifically require that the Department of Health revoke the licenses of physician’s offices that do not provide signed attestations that they do not “offer or provide sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures” to minors, nor do they “refer such patients to other providers for such services.”
Penalties for violating the law would be a fine of up to $5,000, as well as up to five years in prison. Prison time is increased to up to 10 years if the perpetrator has committed felonies prior.
The measure has yet to be voted on.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been vocal in his support of parental rights, as well as protecting children from undergoing gender transition procedures.
Recently, President Joe Biden referred to Florida’s policies as “close to sinful.” On Tuesday, DeSantis retorted, “It is not ‘sinful’ to prohibit the mutilation of minors.”