A federal judge on Tuesday struck down parts of a Florida law restricting the operate of “sex reassignment surgery” on children. The judge declared several laws related to puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries unconstitutional.
The law aimed to prevent medical facilities from prescribing irreversible “gender-affirming” treatments to adolescent children. Several studies have shown that these treatments are not only ineffective but also harmful for minors suffering from gender dysphoria. Nevertheless, the judge said struck down the measure.
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down parts of Florida’s restrictions on medical care for transgender minors and adults related to their gender reassignment and declared several laws prohibiting such care unconstitutional.
The law, pushed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, made Florida one of the U.S. states with the most restrictive conditions for care for transgender people.
“Transgender opponents can, of course, hold their views,” Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, wrote in his opinion. “But they cannot discriminate against transgender people simply because they are transgender. Over time, discrimination against transgender people will decline, just as racism and misogyny have declined. To paraphrase a civil rights activist of old, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Hinkle added, “The State of Florida can issue regulations as needed, but it cannot blanketly deny safe and effective medical treatment to transgender individuals – treatment with drugs that is routinely administered to others with the full consent of the State, as long as the purpose is not to support the patient’s transgender identity.”
The judge claims “Over time, discrimination against transgender people will decrease, just as racism and misogyny have decreased.”
Governor Ron DeSantis sharply criticized the ruling in a statement, pointing to European countries that had abandoned the “gender-affirming” model after numerous studies showed its shortcomings.
“Through their elected representatives, the people of Florida have acted to protect the children of this state, and the court wrongly ignored their wishes,” the statement said. “As we have seen here in Florida, in the United Kingdom and across Europe, there is no compelling evidence to justify the chemical and physical mutilation of children. These procedures cause permanent, life-changing harm to children, and history will look back on this trend with horror.”
During the trial, Florida’s lawyers reportedly acknowledged that the state cannot prohibit someone from adopting a transgender identity, but it can regulate medical care.
As early as June 2023, the same judge issued an injunction against the law, arguing that “gender identity is real” and that “there has long been and continues to be significant prejudice against transgender people.”
This, as mentioned above, is the elephant in the room. Where there is bigotry, there are usually—or so one hopes—opponents of that bigotry. It is hardly surprising that doctors who understand that transgender identity may be real and not invented—doctors who are willing to provide supportive medical care—are opposed to anti-transgender bigotry.
Julia Friedland, deputy press secretary for Governor DeSantis, said in a statement that the court “acted wrongly when it overrode the people-elected legislature to ‘protect children.'”
The Sunshine State is one of 25 states that have passed laws banning “gender-affirming care” for minors, and other states have also challenged these laws in court.
