Judge denies request to stop Florida House from obtaining pediatric group docs justifying ‘gender affirming care’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A federal judge denied a request to stop the Florida House from obtaining documents that showed how one medical group justified recommending “gender affirming care” as part of standards of care.

United States District Judge Allen Winsor denied the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric’s request for a preliminary injunction on June 9.

A House committee voted to subpoena two medical groups that promote sex transition surgeries and operations for minors in April.

“A court denied the @AmerAcadPeds motion to quash my subpoena for the alleged ‘medical evidence’ that supports child mutilation and castration. It is extraordinary that these organizations refuse to follow basic science. Not for long,” Fine said.

BREAKING: A court denied the @AmerAcadPeds motion to quash my subpoena for the alleged "medical evidence" that supports child mutilation and castration. It is extraordinary that these organizations refuse to follow basic science. Not for long.

— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) June 12, 2023

In May, Fine said the documents are “demanding production of all materials justifying their recommendation that castrating and mutilating children is ‘gender affirming care.’”

“Gender-affirming care” refers to gender dysphoria treatments including sex-reassignment surgeries, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

The judge said the issue of appropriate medical standards of care and of how those establishing such standards of care reach their conclusions is “within the realm of appropriate legislative inquiry.”

In May, Barry Richard, lawyer for the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told Florida’s Voice that the subpoena is a violation of the First Amendment rights of the members of the group.

The judge wrote that the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics submitted no evidence showing an “infringement on First Amendment interests.”

“House Committee has shown a legitimate interest in the requested records, and FCAAP has not shown any harm that the interest would not overcome. That is not to say that FCAAP could not succeed with a different record, but on the limited record now before the court, I cannot conclude that FCAAP is substantially likely to prevail on the merits,” Winsor said.

Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee Rep. Randy Fine, R-South Brevard County, previously signed subpoenas in April to the Florida Psychiatric Society and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“Last Monday, my committee voted to issue subpoenas to two organizations that say there’s overwhelming consensus-based, science-based support for this so-called ‘gender affirming care,’” Fine said in May.

“We issued these subpoenas… if the science was on their side, they’d have nothing to hide. But guess what these organizations did?” he said. “They ran to a court and they asked for an injunction, not to have to show us the ‘so called’ science that exists to support this. Why? Because it doesn’t exist. This is not science.”

“This is a cult that is focused on the abuse of children, because if the science existed, they would have been more than happy to show it to us than show us why they are wrong,” Fine said. “They hired lawyers that went to court, say don’t make us have to prove it. Think of the absurdity of that statement.”

Next, the parties must confer regarding an appropriate litigation schedule moving forward.

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, previously said the state served subpoenas to entities that endorse “gender-affirming care” for minors to determine whether the medical consensus was a result of an “intellectually rigorous and open process.”