Judge: DeSantis spread false information while pushing trans health care ban, restrictions
TALAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge hearing a challenge to a transgender health care ban for minors and restrictions for adults noted Thursday that Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, repeatedly spread false information about doctors mutilating children's genitals, even though there are no such documented cases.
The law was sold to protect children from mutilation, when in fact it is about preventing trans children from getting health care, Judge Robert Hinkle told Mohammad Jazil, a lawyer for the state.
“What should I make of these statements when analyzing the governor's motivation?” Hinkle asked. “This appears to be more than just hyperbole.”
Hinkle said he will decide sometime in the new year whether the Legislature, the Department of Health and presidential candidate DeSantis intentionally targeted transgender people with the new law. He expressed some skepticism about the state's motivation as attorneys delivered their closing arguments.
The lawsuit challenges Florida's ban on medical treatment for transgender children, such as hormone therapy or puberty blockers, a law that DeSantis touted when he ran for president. The law also places restrictions on trans healthcare for adults.
Jazil said the motivation behind the law was simply public safety in an area that needs more oversight and could have permanent consequences.
“It's about treating a medical condition; it is not about targeting transgender people,” Jazil said.
Jazil added that if the state targeted transgender people, it could have banned all treatments for adults and children. Hinkle quickly responded that Jazil would have difficulty defending such a law.
Hinkle, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, has temporarily blocked enforcement of the law as it affects minors, pending the outcome of the trial. The lawsuit also challenges restrictions placed on trans adult care, which went into effect during the trial.
At least 22 states have now passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and many of those states are facing lawsuits. Courts have issued mixed rulings, with the nation's first law, in Arkansas, struck down by a federal judge who said the care ban violated the due process rights of transgender youth and their families.
Enforcement has been blocked in two states besides Florida, and enforcement is currently allowed in seven other states or will soon go into effect.
Thomas Redburn, an attorney who represents trans adults and the families of trans children, said DeSantis and the Legislature have shown a pattern of targeting transgender people. He listed other recent laws impacting the community, including restrictions on the use of pronouns in schools, the teaching of gender identification in schools, restrictions on public restrooms and the ban on trans girls from playing girls' sports.