On Monday, Ron DeSantis and Charlie Crist faced off in Florida’s governor debate ahead of the November 8 elections. The two debated issues of the economy, property insurance, Hurricane Ian’s damage, educational standards, abortion, Covid-19 policies, immigration, drug use, public safety, and more. However, when they got on the topic of ‘gender-affirming surgeries for minors,’ DeSantis destroyed Crist with his response.

“When they say gender-affirming care, they mean giving puberty blockers to teenage girls and teenage boys. Doing double mastectomies on young girls, they mean chemically castrating young boys, that is wrong,” said DeSantis. “We are not going to allow that to happen in the state of Florida. A lot of kids go through a lot of different things. A lot of dysphoria resolves itself by the time they become adults.”

Crist argued against this perspective, accusing DeSantis of claiming to know more than medical professionals. “You think you know better than any physician, or any doctor, or any woman, in a position to make decisions about their own personal health,” said Crist. “You want to be the judge, you want to decide what people should do with their own physical being, with the betterment of their health.”

DeSantis shot back at Crist’s accusations, saying, “[Teenagers] are not in the position to know whether they can undergo a radical procedure that physically alters their body.”

“If you’re a 15-year-old, you can’t go get a tattoo in the state of Florida, yet we’re saying you can get a double mastectomy? Of course not. It is inappropriate to do this for minors, and in Florida, we are not going to allow that to happen.” 

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