Today (June 6), a federal judge in Florida blocked a ban on healthcare restrictions for the families of three LGBTQ children. The state has made headlines for Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking in favor of eliminating such protections.
According to Tampa news station WFLA 8, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction to assist the families who previously filed lawsuits against state officials. “Gender identity is real,” Hinkle said during today’s hearing. One of the plaintiffs was 8-year-old Gavin Goe. The judge told the court that doctors insisted the minors were in desperate need of puberty blockers.
We applaud the ruling by Judge Robert L. Hinkle, which partially halts the enforcement of the Florida Transgender Health ban in a preliminary injunction. This injunction allows the families legally challenging the ban to get the appropriate care they need for their children.
— Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus 🏳️🌈 (@lgbtqdems) June 6, 2023
On May 17, Florida passed SB-254, a law that prohibited treatments for sex reassignment for kids. The measure made it illegal for healthcare providers to distribute GnRH agonists, known as “puberty blockers,” and cross-sex hormones, known as “hormone replacement therapy” (HRT) to patients under the age of 18 years old. When the law became effective, Goe was one of the individuals whose appointments were canceled at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital gender clinic in St. Petersburg. “In this litigation, the medical defendants have explicitly acknowledged that this view is wrong and that pushing individuals away from their transgender identity is not a legitimate state interest,” Hinkle claimed in a lengthy summary.
The lawsuit goes after the Florida surgeon general, the Florida Board of Medicine and its members, the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine and its members, the Florida attorney general, and 20 state attorneys. One of the defendants’ concerns is that the treatments aren’t FDA-approved. The judge stood firm in his beliefs, adding, “In 98 [percent] or more of the cases, the patient’s gender identity did not align with natal sex.” State Rep. Randy Fine said, “I stopped reading on page four when it became clear the order wasn’t worth the paper it is written on… We will not stop fighting to defend children from those like Hinkle who support child castration and mutilation.”