FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2024
CONTACTS
Amanda Johnston, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders | ajohnston@glad.org
Aneesha Pappy, Human Rights Campaign Foundation | aneesha.pappy@hrc.org
Nancy Kinnally, Southern Legal Counsel | nancy@therelatablegroup.com
Malkia Hutchinson, National Center for Lesbian Rights | mhutchinson@nclrights.org
Ivette Delgado, Lowenstein Sandler | ivetted@infiniteglobal.com
Florida Families File Brief Today Against Arbitrary Ban on Healthcare for Transgender Youth
“As a parent, it is heartbreaking to see my right to make healthcare decisions for my child taken away by political bullies, and the hurt and harm that has caused my child.”
Today, Florida families challenging the state’s ban on medical care for transgender youth urged the Eleventh Circuit to strike down the ban because it was based on animosity toward transgender people and has no basis in medical science. Striking down the ban would affirm the earlier lower federal court decision, which took this action based on this reasoning.
Federal district court Judge Robert Hinkle issued an order on June 11 declaring that Florida’s ban on medical care for transgender youth and its unprecedented restrictions of care for transgender adults are unconstitutional and may not be enforced. Judge Hinkle issued his order after a multi-day trial including multiple witnesses and experts. In a 105-page decision, Judge Hinkle found that the evidence, including statements made by sponsors and key supporters of the law, overwhelmingly showed that a majority of legislators who voted for these restrictions on healthcare were “motivated by anti-transgender animus.”
“I love my child and want to get her the healthcare she needs,” said Plaintiff Jane Doe, parent of Susan Doe. “As a parent, it is heartbreaking to see my right to make healthcare decisions for my child taken away by political bullies, and the hurt and harm that has caused my child.”
Following Judge Hinkle’s order, the State of Florida appealed his decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which will decide whether to affirm or reverse his decision. Last month, a panel of the Eleventh Circuit stayed Judge Hinkle’s order pending its resolution of the appeal, which means that the challenged laws are currently in effect, depriving Florida families and transgender adults of the ability to obtain medical care.
As Judge Hinkle noted in his order, “the overwhelming weight of medical authority” supports making these treatments accessible to transgender people and permitting Florida to enforce these arbitrary restrictions “will cause needless suffering for a substantial number of patients.”
Judge Hinkle also found that the administrative process that resulted in Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine rules banning medical care for transgender minors was riddled with bias and radical departures from the Boards’ ordinary practices, noting that “the Boards departed from their usual procedures, orchestrated public hearings, and single-mindedly pursued the predetermined outcome sought by the Governor and Surgeon General.” Judge Hinkle further noted that the State of Florida had failed to identify even a single person who has been harmed by the provision of this healthcare in Florida.
The families and adults challenging Florida’s restrictions are represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), and Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
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Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. (SLC) is a Florida statewide not-for-profit public interest law firm that is committed to the ideal of equal justice for all and the attainment of basic human and civil rights. SLC’s Transgender Rights Initiative protects the rights of Florida’s LGBTQ+ community through federal impact litigation, policy advocacy, and individual representation. www.southernlegal.org
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. www.hrc.org
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. www.nclrights.org
Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) works to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. www.glad.org
