After President Joe Biden‘s appearance on the Daily Show went viral for the President’s comments about transgender youth, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hit back with his own video contradicting Biden’s stance.
Discussing gender-affirming care and the move to ban such care in Florida, Biden said: “What’s going on in Florida is, as my mother would say, close to sinful.”
Biden followed by telling Daily Show guest host Kal Penn: “It’s not like a kid wakes up one morning and says, ‘You know, I decided I want to become a man’ or ‘I want to become a woman’ or ‘I want to change.’ What are they thinking about here? They are human beings. They love. They have feelings. They have inclinations that are… It just, to me, is, I don’t know is, it’s cruel.”
DeSantis took issue with Biden’s characterization of what constitutes “cruel” and what constitutes “care,” labeling gender-affirmation treatments “science experiments” on children. DeSantis said Florida “cannot allow people to make money off mutilating them.”
DeSantis thanked a young person named Chloe, who he says regrets having had gender affirmation treatment as a teen.
Children are not guinea pigs for science experiments, and we cannot allow people to make money off mutilating them.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 14, 2023
Thank you, Chloe, for sharing your story – Florida is listening. pic.twitter.com/wJMo6REmlC
As Biden acknowledges, “transgender kids is a really harder thing.” Minnesota Governor Tim Wahl agrees, having recently issued an executive order so that “in Minnesota, our LGBTQ+ neighbors will not be denied or punished for seeking life-affirming and lifesaving medical care.”
Walz wrote in the EO that his “deeply personal decision is made with the guidance of medical professionals.”
Backgrounder:
Gender affirming treatment (GAT) is a collection of medical and non-medical interventions that aim to help transgender and non-binary individuals transition to their desired gender. The goal of gender affirming treatment is to align a person’s physical characteristics with their gender identity, which is the gender they feel themselves to be.
Gender affirming treatment can include various interventions, such as hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgeries (such as chest reconstruction, genital reconstruction, facial feminization, etc.), voice training, and counseling or therapy. The specific treatments chosen will depend on the individual’s goals and needs, as well as their physical and mental health.
Gender affirming treatment has been shown to have a positive impact on the well-being and quality of life of transgender and non-binary individuals. Access to gender affirming treatment is considered a critical aspect of healthcare for transgender and non-binary people and is increasingly recognized as a human right. However, there are still significant barriers to accessing gender-affirming care, including financial barriers, lack of knowledgeable healthcare providers, and legal and social stigma.
