As the Florida Board of Medicine considers banning medical treatments for transgender youth, a move urged by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, the board’s chairperson has assured LGBTQ advocates that the group “is vociferously apolitical.”
But at least eight of the board’s 14 members, who are all DeSantis appointees, have donated to the Republican governor’s campaigns or political committee, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis. Among the donors are a GOP fundraiser close with the Bush family, a vascular surgeon who wrote a $25,000 check and the board chairperson, who contributed $2,000.
Conservatives across the U.S., including DeSantis, have taken aim at transition-related treatments for transgender minors in recent months. They argue there isn’t enough evidence to prove such care is safe and effective, even though major medical groups have supported it for years. Now, DeSantis wants to block Florida doctors from prescribing the treatments to children.
