Ron DeSantis loses big in court as judge issues scathing ruling on his anti-trans healthcare law: 'Gender identity is real'

• A federal judge blocked parts of Florida's new law prohibiting hormone treatments for trans minors.
• Judge Robert Hinkle said 'gender identity is real' and endorsed medical treatment for trans kids.
• The ruling is a temporary victory for civil rights groups, but the broader law remains in effect.

Saying "gender identity is real," a federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, ruling the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction, saying three transgender children can continue receiving treatment. The lawsuit challenges the law Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed shortly before announcing a run for president.

"The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset. Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear," Hinkle wrote in his ruling, adding that even a witness for the state agreed. Transgender medical treatment for minors is increasingly under attack, but has been available for over a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations, Hinkle noted.

The law bans treatment with "GnRH agonists, known as puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones" for minors. Hinkle wrote that the "treatments at issue are GnRH agonists, colloquially known as 'puberty blockers,' and cross-sex hormones."

"The overwhelming weight of medical authority supports treatment of transgender patients with GnRH agonists and cross-sex hormones in appropriate circumstances," Hinkle wrote. He said the plaintiffs will likely prevail, as "qualified professionals have properly evaluated the children's medical conditions and needs in accordance with the well-established standards of care."

Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction against the defendants, writing "the preliminarily enjoined parties must not take any steps to prevent the administration of GnRH agonists or cross-sex hormones" for the three children.

Hinkle said those who believe gender identity is a choice "tend to disapprove all things transgender and so oppose medical care that supports a person's transgender existence."

Banning treatment ignores risks to patients, Hinkle said. "There are risks attendant to not using these treatments, including the risk — in some instances, the near certainty — of anxiety, depression and even suicidal ideation," he wrote.

Hinkle noted hormone treatments and puberty blockers are often used to treat non-transgender children, so the law allows their use for some but not others.

Hinkle said the three children in the lawsuit "will suffer irreparable harm" without treatment. Conversely, he wrote, "the treatment will affect the patients themselves, nobody else, and will cause the defendants no harm."

A spokesman for the governor's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The injunction is a victory for civil rights groups who argue the law discriminates against transgender people. But the ruling was narrowly focused on the three children, leaving the law in place for now. A trial is set for mid-2023.