Florida: Court of Appeals Allows State Ban on Sex-Change Treatments for Minors

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Reversing a lower district court’s decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Monday that Florida can enforce a law that prohibits doctors in the state from prescribing puberty blockers or conducting sex change surgeries to minors under the age of 18, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

In its majority decision, the appeals court ruled 2-1 that the law Florida passed in May 2023 can take effect now, even while litigation over its merits continues, CP said. In its majority ruling, the court explained it believes “the [state] defendants have made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits.”

Rejecting claims that minors would suffer “irreparable harm” if they were denied sex-change treatments, the majority panel emphasized that those youth who have already been started on puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones may continue their treatment, CP reports.

“The district court itself recognized that there were ‘legitimate concerns’ about some of the treatments’ effects, as well as a ‘risk of misdiagnosis,’ ‘risks attendant to treatment,’ and the potential for ‘additional medical risks,’” the majority panel said. “Considering these factual conclusions, we think Florida has satisfied its burden to show that the fourth factor favors a stay.”

Florida enacted its law after a 2022 review by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration found that: “Scientific studies supporting hormone replacement therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery for treating gender dysphoria are weak to very weak. The evidence showing benefits from hormone replacement therapies for gender dysphoria is very weak … Scientific studies do not show that the use of puberty blockers improves mental health.”

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