A federal judge has struck down a 2023 Florida law that restricted doctors from giving gender-confused children harmful puberty blockers and hormonal treatments.
Senior Judge Robert Hinkle said Tuesday it was unconstitutional when the state barred transgender minors from “gender-affirming” care with their parent’s permission.
“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 hold their beliefs. But they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals just for being transgender.
Governor Ron DeSantis blasted Hinkle’s ruling calling it “erroneous” and vowed to appeal the decision.
“The people of Florida acted to protect children in this state, and the court was wrong to override their wishes,” he said in a statement, adding “as we’ve 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 do permanent, life-altering damage to children, and history will look back on this fad in horror.”
Last week, a coalition of pediatricians, health policy groups, and conservative organizations called on the American College of Pediatricians (ACP)
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN