ORLANDO, Fla. —  A federal appeals court ruling handed down in late August now allows Florida to enforce restrictions on gender transition care for minors. It also allows requirements for transgender adults to only receive treatment from a doctor, not from a registered nurse or nurse practitioner.

The law had been blocked by a lower court in June, but in a 2-1 ruling, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta overturned that ruling on Aug. 26, and allowed it to go into effect while the case is appealed.

What You Need To Know

  • According to Spektrum Health, about 80% of gender transition patients in Central Florida were being treated by nurse practitioners, while 20% were being treated by physicians

  • The Florida Legislature passed legislation that would require all transgender care to come from a doctor

  • The law had been blocked by a federal judge in June, but a panel of judges issued a 2-1 ruling to allow it to go into effect while the case is appealed

  • Many members of the transgender community in Florida say they are now having to find alternate treatment options because of the law's restrictions

Many clinics that specialize in transgender care are now pivoting with the recent ruling. According to Spektrum Health, about 80% of gender transition patients in Central Florida were being treated by nurse practitioners, while 20% were being treated by physicians. 

Adi Love, a transgender woman, is now looking for a new clinic to get her transition medication.

Love regularly visits the Pineapple Healthcare for her weekly doses, which are vital to her transition treatment.

“Through doing drag, through art, through just getting to meet other people and then actually learning what transgender meant, it was sort of like an 'Ah-ha!' moment and an epiphany that this makes sense,” Love said.

Since Love was a teenager, she said she knew in her heart she was a woman. But the education and access to treatment was scarce in Puerto Rico. When she moved to Orlando, she thought her options would be different.

“It’s extremely difficult — there’s not a lot of resources," she said. "There’s not a lot of places or education for us. Here, I would think it was going to be way easier, but with all the laws being passed and the bans against gender-affirming care, I’m actually finding it harder here to be able to continue the treatment."  

Love only receives regular check-ups at Pineapple Healthcare, but because of the law that is now in effect, she has to find another provider for her hormone therapy. 

“It makes it harder," she said. "A lot of people don’t have those resources. It’s much more convenient to receive my care here because I have everything else."

After the June ruling, attorneys for the state of Florida argued that while the state cannot prevent individuals from pursuing a transgender identity, it can regulate medical care. While Love can make this change, she understands that many in her community lack the same access. 

“It’s frustrating. I have a job, I have a partner, I have interests, and family," she said. "I don’t want to use more of my time for something that should be already accessible in me coming (to a medical clinic). But we do what we must."

The August ruling also prohibits doctors and nurses from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to minors, a measure that Gov. Ron DeSantis has stated it is necessary. 

“It’s causing a lot of damage to folks, and what we did is put a stop to it in Florida," DeSantis said after the August ruling. "We’re not going to be a cottage industry for the mutilation of minors. That’s not happening on my watch."

Officials at Pineapple Health say their organization is making a call-to-action in the hopes that they will be able to partner with local physicians to care for gender transition patients.