The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) must provide the state of Florida with documentation on why it supports gender transitions for minors and any communication with its members about that decision-making process, a District Court ruled.
The AAP is involved in a lawsuit against Florida over a new rule established last year that prohibits the use of Medicaid funds on sex changes and other transgender-related care. The AAP signed on in support of the plaintiffs, leading Florida to subpoena it and numerous other organizations for information on their policies toward individuals with gender dysphoria and how those policies were developed, as first reported by the Daily Caller.
EXCLUSIVE: Florida Subpoenas Organizations Pushing Transgender Care On Children In Lawsuit https://t.co/yRyKmYymAW via @dailycaller
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) December 15, 2022
Thursday, Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered the AAP to turn over information on its total number of members, documents on how it establishes guidelines and policy positions, any guidelines or policy positions on gender-affirming care for gender dysphoria and how those guidelines or policies were developed, to the state of Florida by Feb. 2. The organization must also share any official communications it had with its members about those policies and guidelines.
“Gender-affirming care” is a euphemism for medical procedures and treatments that facilitate gender transition, such as sex change operations or hormone therapy.
Activists initially filed for a preliminary injunction against the Medicaid rule last year, but that request was denied in October when Judge Jackson Hinkle ruled that the question at hand was one for Medicaid statutes, not the constitution.
According to its website, the AAP “recommends that youth who identify as transgender have access to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally appropriate health care that is provided in a safe and inclusive clinical space.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: DeSantis Says He Would Ban Trans Surgeries For Minors)
The organization has opposed legislation and rules backed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at curbing access to care that facilitates sex changes for children. It also opposes laws that prohibit biological males from playing on female sports teams.