DANIA BEACH, Fla. ā Jasmine McKenzie says living her life as a transgender woman has come at many costs.
āWhen I was 14, I was kicked out of my home,ā McKenzie said. āMaybe a year later, thatās when I found out that I was diagnosed with HIV.ā
The 33-year-old now leads the McKenzie Project, helping transgender people find an easier path, connecting them to resources, like medical care through Medicaid.
āI think people they dismiss the importance of it all and to me I feel like when you take that away from someone, youāre taking away their transition,ā McKenzie said.
But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisā administration wants to ban transgender care for young people covered by Medicaid.
āThese very young kids getting āgender-affirming care,ā they donāt tell you what that is,ā DeSantis said Wednesday. āItās that theyāre actually giving very young girls double mastectomies, they want to castrate these young boys.ā
The stateās Board of Medicine is set to meet Friday at the Dania Beach Marriott hotel to discuss further steps on a proposed ban, which could go beyond just children.
Civil rights groups estimate roughly 9,000 transgender people in Florida could be affected.
Medicaid currently covers transgender medical care like puberty blockers, hormones and sex reassignment treatments.
But the state agency responsible for Medicaid recently published a lengthy report, claiming those services donāt meet their standard of a āmedical necessity.ā
Adding that the treatments for gender dysphoria are āexperimentalā and āinvestigationalā with āpotential harm.ā
āI think these doctors need to get sued for whatās happening,ā DeSantis said.
But Floridaās chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has come out rejecting the proposed ban.
A team of doctors and legal experts with Yale University is also rebuking it, calling it āthoroughly flawedā with āno scientific weight.ā
Jeanette Jennings, the mother of South Florida reality star Jazz Jennings, whose television show has documented her transition, is speaking out against the proposal.
āJazz will tell you herself that she might not be with us today if she did not have the hormone blockers,ā Jennings said.
Jennings says transgender care can be life saving for children like her daughter, who are statistically more likely to attempt suicide over their non-LGBTQ peers.
HELPFUL LINKS
Florida Board of Medicine Upcoming Meetings
FDOH: Treatment of Gender Dysphoria for Children and Adolescents
Yale School of Medicine: Flawed Medicaid Report in Florida
FCAAP rejects new Florida Department of Health guidelines on gender-affirming care for youth