Advocates relieved but wary after court strikes down Florida’s anti-trans law: ‘Gives me a lot of hope’

A federal judge this week struck down much of a Florida law passed by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, that, among other things, banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors and limited such treatment for adults.

The ruling by Judge Robert L. Hinkle of federal court in Tallahassee was the latest in a number of recent legal setbacks for DeSantis, whose conservative rhetoric and legislation on LGBTQ+ issues, immigration and classroom teaching fueled, at least in part, his national profile and presidential run.

In May 2023, Republicans passed legislation to ban the prescription of puberty blockers and other hormone-related therapies to treat gender dysphoria in minors. The law also banned gender-affirming medical procedures or surgeries for minors and imposed new restrictions on adults seeking such treatment, among other things.

Three families and civil rights groups filed suit a lawsuit soon then, arguing that the law deprived parents of the ability to make medical decisions for their children, causing a “cascade of mental and physical harm” to the minors.

Hinkle, who temporarily blocked enforcement of the ban in June 2023, controlled much of the law was unconstitutional and compared opposition to transgender rights to opposition to equality for minorities and women.

“Some transgender opponents invoke religion to support their position, just as some once invoked religion to support their racism or misogyny,” Hinkle wrote in his 105-page decision. “Transgender opponents are of course free to maintain their beliefs. But they are not free to discriminate against transgender people just because they are transgender.”

Rabbi Samantha Kahn, a Miami native and graduate of the University of Florida, said she sees “Florida as my home and my life” but had thought her family might have to leave the state because of the law.

She has a 10-year-old transgender daughter who she expects will need the kind of medical interventions that the law prohibits.

“We have long thought that our time in Florida had an expiration date, which was very sad for us, and this is the first glimmer of hope that that may not be the case,” said Kahn, a senior associate rabbi. at Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, who is married and has a youngest daughter.

DeSantis’ office released a statement calling the ruling “incorrect” and vowing to appeal.

“Through their elected representatives, the people of Florida acted to protect children in this state, and the court was wrong to override their wishes,” said the statement from DeSantis, who also saw courts strike down laws he personally approved. including the Stop Woke Act, which covered classroom education and workplace training, and one that was restrictive voter registration. “As we have seen here in Florida, the United Kingdom 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 craze with horror.”

Simone Chriss, director of Southern Legal Counsel’s transgender rights initiative, described the ruling as a “much-needed victory for Florida’s transgender community during a very difficult time in this state.”

“It is incredibly thoughtful, well-reasoned and comprehensive and gives me great hope about our chances of upholding this order,” said Chriss, an attorney on the case.

While DeSantis used extreme language in his statement condemning Hinkle’s ruling, some European countries have begun to implement new restrictions on gender treatments for minors.

In April, Dr. Hilary Cass, a pediatrician, released a report commissioned by England’s National Health Service raising concerns about puberty blockers being prescribed to young people who should only see psychologists.

As a result of Cass’s findings, the NHS forbidden the routine use of puberty blockers to treat adolescents with gender dysphoria, excluding treatment in clinical research settings. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have issued similar restrictions.

But Hinkle disagreed with DeSantis’ claims that Florida’s restrictions on transgender care were similar to those in European countries.

“No matter how many times the defendants say it, it will still be false. No country in Europe – or as far as this record shows, anywhere in the world – completely bans these treatments,” Hinkle wrote.

Jennifer Levi, an attorney for the plaintiffs and senior director of transgender and queer rights at Glad, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group, agrees with Hinkle’s response.

“It is of course important to ensure that transgender people receive appropriate health care and effective treatment and that people are informed about medications – as with a range of different medical conditions,” Levi said. “But what this court noted is that none of these international developments have resulted in the kind of bans, or even the kind of restrictions on adult care, that Florida has adopted.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit did not challenge parts of the law that banned gender confirmation surgeries for minors and placed restrictions on surgeries for adults, so the ruling does not address those provisions.

Natasha Poulopoulos, a child psychologist in Miami who provides training on how to make health care more inclusive for LGBTQ people, said many patients told her the ban made them feel like they didn’t have a say “in what’s best for my body or my body’. mental health”.

“Unfortunately, we now have to address a lot of the damage that was done when the gender-affirming healthcare ban went into effect, because there was a huge wave of really violent rhetoric around LGBTQ+ people,” Poulopoulos added.

Kahn, the rabbi, said her daughter was a “very sad, very angry child” with significant mental health issues until she revealed during therapy, “I have the body of a boy, but inside I’m really a girl.”

Since her transition, she has become a “happy, confident, well-behaved, well-adjusted young woman,” Kahn said.

Although she does not yet need puberty blockers, Kahn and her family were concerned that if the ban were to remain in place, they would eventually have to leave the state, a place she loved despite recent moves by Republicans to protect transgender rights and restrict women.

“There is something beautiful about living in a place where there is a diversity of opinions and thoughtful people come from all directions,” Kahn said. “We hope that Florida does not back down and that the ruling is upheld.”

She continued: “Maybe one day more people will accept my daughter and stop having prejudices about my daughter.”