A federal court ruled Tuesday that Florida’s ban on puberty-suppressing drugs and hormone replacement therapy for transgender minors, as well as restrictions on adults, are both unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who presided over the case in Tallahassee, sided with the class-action plaintiffs, transgender minors and their adult parents, who argued that the measure violates the U.S. Constitution because it targets only transgender people.
“Federal courts are responsible for upholding the Constitution and the law. Florida can regulate as necessary, but it cannot outright deny safe and effective medical care to transgender individuals – medication-assisted treatments that are routinely provided to others with full state approval – unless the purpose is to support the patient’s transgender identity.” Hinkle wrote:.
These restrictions were put into place following approval by Governor Ron DeSantis. SB254 The Florida Medical Association and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine are scheduled to promulgate rules implementing the law in May 2023. Both boards and Florida Department of Public Health Commissioner Joseph Ladapo were named as defendants.
The measure banned puberty-blocking drugs and hormone replacement therapy, common treatments for gender identity disorder, for use by minors. Additionally, the law required that only doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists be allowed to treat adults seeking gender reassignment treatment, and imposed additional requirements of frequent in-person consultations, testing, and consent forms that included false information about the harms of hormone replacement therapy.
However, the law did not impose similar restrictions on cisgender women who need to take testosterone, or cisgender men who need to take estrogen.
Appeal pending
Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for Governor DeSantis, said the state plans to appeal the ruling, which will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
“Floridians, through their elected representatives, have acted to protect our state’s children, and it was wrong for the court to ignore their wishes,” Redfern said in a statement to The Florida Phoenix.
“We disagree with the Court’s erroneous rulings on the law, facts and science. As we have seen here in Florida, in the UK and across Europe, there is no quality evidence to support the chemical and physical mutilation of children. These procedures cause permanent, life-changing damage to children, and history will look back on this epidemic with horror.”
Redfearn wrote that the state will “continue to fight to ensure that children are not chemically or physically mutilated in the name of radical new-age ‘gender ideology.'”
“There have been no patient complaints, no adverse outcomes in Florida and this is simply a political issue,” Judge Hinkle wrote in his 105-page decision.
However, the decision does not lift the state’s ban on gender reassignment surgery for minors or its restrictions on surgery for adults, because the plaintiffs did not challenge the laws regarding surgery for minors, and because the adult plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge those restrictions because they did not seek surgery.
Plaintiff’s Relief
Plaintiff Gloria Go (a pseudonym used to protect her child’s privacy) is the mother of a transgender boy who was eight years old at the time the trial began. On the first day of the trial on December 13, she testified that she feared her son would be consumed by depression if he was forced to go through puberty without medical care.
“This ruling has lifted a huge burden and worry for me and my family, knowing that Gavin will continue to receive the care he needs and will remain the kind-hearted, smiling boy he is today. I am very grateful that the court recognised that this law prevented parents like me from caring for their children,” Goh wrote in a press release.
The plaintiffs were represented by attorneys from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Southern Legal Counsel and the law firm Lowenstein Sandler.
Hinkle likened the discrimination transgender people currently face to racism and misogyny.
“Some anti-transgender people invoke religion to support their positions, just as religion has previously been invoked to support racism and misogyny,” Hinkle wrote. “Opposites are free to hold their own beliefs, but they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals simply because they are transgender. Just as racism and misogyny have declined, discrimination against transgender individuals will likely decline over time.”
Democratic response
The Florida Democratic Party released a written statement welcoming the ruling.
“Transgender Floridians have a right to exist, that’s all there is to it. Today, we are grateful that equal protection under the law truly means protection for everyone, and that Floridians will continue to have access to the health care they need,” said party chair Nikki Fried.
“Ron’s obsession with the LGBTQ+ community has always been about politics and power, never about policy or medical facts. With each court overturning a law, it becomes more clear that his failed presidential bid was based on unconstitutional extremism that has no place in our democracy. Florida Republicans should learn from this ruling — stay away from clinics altogether and instead focus on making Florida a more affordable place for everyone.”
