Agency for Health Care Administration

An administrative complaint filed by AHCA alleged that 193 abortions were performed at the facility from April 26 to May 7 without the state-mandated 24-hour waiting periods.

The case is linked to a 2015 state law that required 24-hour waiting periods. After years of battles about the constitutionality of the law, a Leon County judge upheld the waiting-period requirement in April.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Tampa, came after AHCA Secretary Simone Marstiller submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking numerous records about importation proposals by Florida and other states.

Under the rule, which goes into effect Aug. 21, Medicaid would not cover puberty-blocking meds, hormones and hormone “antagonists,” gender-affirmation surgeries and “other procedures that alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics.”

Seven out-of-state scientists and a Yale law professor say the proposal ignores “established science” and relies on "biased and discredited sources, stereotyping and purported ‘expert’ reports that carry no scientific weight.”

A meeting drew more than 150 people, with supporters of the proposal - many of sporting “Let Kids Be Kids” decals and making biblical references - vastly outnumbering opponents.

If the rule is approved, Medicaid would not pay for gender-affirming treatments in Florida. That includes puberty blockers, hormones and sex-assignment surgeries for both youth and adults.

AHCA, which runs most of the Medicaid program, published a proposed rule and set a July 8 hearing on the issue. National and state legal and LGBTQ-advocacy groups have vowed to fight the proposal.

Dr. Michael Haller, UF's chief of pediatric endocrinology, says his team provides gender-affirming treatment to about 200 patients, and two-thirds are covered by Medicaid.

AHCA will start a rule-making process related to treatments for gender dysphoria, including sex-reassignment surgery, saying they are “not consistent with generally accepted professional medical standards and are experimental.”