Today, June 11, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle issued a ruling in Doe v. Ladapo against Florida’s SB 254 (and related administrative rules), which restricted access to inclusive healthcare for transgender adults and prohibited all gender-affirming care for transgender young people. The ban on youth access has been blocked since June 2023.
Doe v. Ladapo was brought 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. We are so grateful for the work of these legal teams, the plaintiffs, and advocates who fought back against this unconstitutional law.
Simone Chriss, Director of Transgender Rights Initiative for the Southern Legal Counsel, said today in a statement:
“The federal court saw Florida’s transgender minor healthcare ban and adult restrictions for what they are—discriminatory measures that cannot survive constitutional review. Today’s ruling blocks the state of Florida’s cruel campaign to deny fundamental rights and basic healthcare to its transgender citizens. We are so proud of our brave plaintiffs, without whom we could not have achieved this victory for the state of Florida.”
When Florida passed SB254, the Campaign for Southern Equality teamed up with Equality Florida and Southern Legal Counsel to launch the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project to provide patient navigation support and emergency grants of $500 to transgender youth and their families, and to transgender adults impacted by the adult-specific restrictions.
Since launching, the project supported around 450 trans adults in Florida and distributed $175,000 in direct emergency grants to people whose care was interrupted by the ban. Additionally, we made grants to 40 families of trans youth in Florida, totaling $20,000. We are so grateful for the support and partnership of Equality Florida and Southern Legal Counsel.
Families of transgender youth in Florida can still access navigation support and understand their options by visiting www.southernequality.org/FLResources.
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