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This year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed laws that banned gender-affirming care for minors and made it harder for transgender adults to get medical care. A new study shows that policies like these are driving LGBTQ people away from the state.
Gender-affirming care can range from social, such as using preferred names and pronouns, to medical, including puberty blockers and hormones for trans individuals.
A new study by The Human Rights Campaign Foundation shows that LGBTQ people are steering clear of states with legislation banning this care.
“Two-thirds of LGBTQ adults said they would not consider moving to a state with a gender-affirming care ban. A third of LGBTQ people, including more than half of trans and non-binary people, said that if the state where they live now enacted a ban like that, that they would consider moving to a different state, or they had already moved or started moving.”
Cathryn Oakley is the Senior Director for Legal Policy at the Human Rights campaign.
“The study really confirmed what we’ve been hearing anecdotally, which is that folks feel unsafe. They feel afraid.”
The Human Rights Campaign and Equality Florida issued a travel advisory for LGBTQ+ people coming to Florida. Oakley says that recent attacks on gender-affirming care, especially in Florida, are unfounded.
“It’s best practice healthcare. It is supported by the science. It is clear that for folks who receive this care, that their medical and mental health improves dramatically.”
You can read the full study on HRC.org.
