“I’d never consider myself an activist in that sense,” says Dr. Michael Haller, a medical school professor and head of paediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida. “But I’m sure as hell going to stand up for my patients.”
Although his primary specialisation is type 1 diabetes, Haller has treated transgender children, and oversees other paediatric endocrinologists who specialise in their care. And those patients’ well-being is currently at risk, given how prominent Florida Republicans, especially Governor Ron DeSantis, are targeting trans rights. The result is that experts of conscience, such as Haller, have become vocal opponents of the politicisation of patient care for authoritarian ends.
Trans people are now the primary target for political persecution in the Sunshine State (and many other Republican-controlled states), just as November’s midterm elections loom. This is a development that Haller views with concern. He describes DeSantis as “willing to use whatever tools he needs to maintain power, even if it means trying to utilise policies that are not in the best interests of people he represents”.
