Florida GOP lawmaker vows to introduce bill that would make gender transition-related healthcare for minors a felony

A Florida Republican lawmaker is vowing to propose legislation that would make it illegal for healthcare professionals in Florida to provide gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

According to Politico, State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) who served as the House K-12 budget chief, has expressed interest in imposing severe penalties for doctors who perform surgical procedures or prescribe medications that contribute to the process of gender reassignment of children in Florida. In addition to proposing that it be a form of felony child abuse to provide such medical care, Fine is also advocating for healthcare professionals to lose their medical licenses.

On Monday, April, 4, Fine took to Twitter with a series of tweets sharing more details about his upcoming proposal. "If an adult wants to self-mutilate in pursuit of the fiction they can defy G-d and science, more power to them -- as they don't expect me to pay for it," he tweeted.

The Republican lawmaker went on to express concern about transgender women in women's sports.

"I can say I’m a porcupine, but that doesn't make it so. It is time to dispense with this fantasy making women's sports a joke and our schools into a cesspool. I've taken on Common Core, university corruption, and school board lawbreaking. And won every time. This is next."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has also pushed back against what he describes as “'transgenderism' in schools through a proposal that prohibits teachers from leading classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade," per Politico.

However, Democratic lawmakers argue otherwise. Pushing back against Fine's proposed legislation, Democrats insist it is "a 'dangerous' way to build on the parental rights legislation signed last week by DeSantis, FL HB1557 (22R), dubbed 'Don’t Say Gay' law by opponents."

“FL Republicans once again showing us that the entire premise of HB1557 was & is to attack the health & well-being of LGBTQ+ youth, who they don’t think should even be able to access medical care w/parental consent,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) wrote on Twitter.

Despite the opposition, Fine argues, “No child should be put in the position of making life-altering decisions before they are of the age of majority."