ORLANDO, Fla. — In a letter to the Florida Board of Medicine, state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo encouraged members to create a state-specific standard guidance for gender-affirming treatments for children. Ladapo cautions against medicine and procedures for gender dysphoria.

The Board is set to meet in Orlando on Friday morning, but the topic is not listed for discussion as an item on the meeting agenda.

Ladapo claims there’s a lack of evidence supporting gender treatments in young people.

He wrote Thursday directly to the Board of Medicine:

“The current standards set by numerous professional organizations appear to follow a preferred political ideology instead of the highest level of generally accepted medical science. Florida must do more to protect children from politics-based medicine. Otherwise, children and adolescents in our state will continue to face a substantial risk of long-term harm.”

Earlier in the year, the Florida Department of Health released a message also cautioning against gender procedures; in its April release, the Department urged, “systematic reviews on hormonal treatment for young people show a trend of low-quality evidence, small sample sizes, and medium to high risk of bias.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics supports gender dysphoria treatment by doctors as a way of preventing depression, anxiety, and suicide.

In its policy, Dr. Brittany Allen states “gender-affirming care may draw on evidence-based medical tools — such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy — at developmentally appropriate ages. These tools have been shown to help reduce gender dysphoria and improve mental health for many transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse youth.”