A federal judge temporarily blocked parts of a new Florida law on Tuesday that bans transgender teenagers from puberty blockers, arguing that “gender identity is real.”
On his Judgment of 44 pages, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction that focuses on three transgender children whose parents requested immediate relief from the ban. The ruling states that the minors, two aged 11 and one aged 8, can continue to receive treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, known as “puberty blockers” or cross-sex hormones.
Addressing what he called “the elephant in the room,” Hinkle countered the defendants’ insinuations and suggestions “that transgender identity is not real, that it’s made up.”
Hinkle also noted that the only defense expert who had actually treated a significant number of transgender patients agreed that gender identity exists. “At least one defense expert has also admitted this,” Hinkle wrote.
Hinkle wrote that adequate treatment and care have been found for the children. The vast majority of clinicians are dedicated professionals whose first goal is the safe and effective treatment of their patients, and there is no reason to believe that these clinicians are motivated by anything else, he wrote. There is an approved standard of care for treating trans minors, and the children can suffer from anxiety, depression and other medical conditions if they don’t get the care they need, according to the ruling.
Hinkle also found that the parents’ motivation for the lawsuit stemmed from “love for their children and a desire to get the best possible deal for them.”
“This is not the motivation of the State,” he wrote.
“Today, my entire family breathes a huge sigh of relief knowing that we can now access the treatment that we know will keep Susan healthy and allow her to continue to be the happy, confident child that she has been,” Jane Doe, the mother of one of the kids defying the law, he said in a written statement.
The legislation that Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law last month it also makes it difficult for transgender adults to receive treatment. Adult patients must sign an informed consent form to access trans health care.
“This measure is extremely limited in scope. In this case, a single judge has ruled that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones should be available to three young children. Otherwise, Florida law continues effective,” Jeremy T. Redfern, spokesman. for Governor DeSantis, he told CBS News.
“Obviously, we disagree with the judge’s decision. We will continue to fight the rogue elements of the medical establishment that push ideology over evidence and protect our children from mutilation,” Redfern added.
At least nineteen states have passed laws prohibit care for trans minors who affirm the gender.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Cara Tabachnick
