BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Florida banning child sex changes, declares ‘gender identity is real’

The block is temporary, but it stops the state from preventing doctors from giving minors puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in service to gender transition. Puberty blockers are used to halt the natural development of children into adults and can cause lifelong, irreversible changes, such as stunted growth.

The application of cross-sex hormones, testosterone in girls and estrogen in boys also results in lifelong changes, such as body and facial hair in girls, along with a lower voice, and gynecomastia in boys, or the growth of female-appearing breasts.

Judge Robert Hinkle made the decision, issuing a temporary injunction so that three children who are already in the process of undergoing sex changes may be permitted to continue.

"The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset. Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear," Hinkle said. In issuing the temporary injunction, he used language that is clearly skewed toward the views of the plaintiffs in the case, notably the term "cisgender," which is a derogatory term for people who do not identify as transgender.

"Despite the defense admissions," Hinkle said, "there are those who believe that cisgender individuals properly adhere to their natal sex and that transgender individuals have inappropriately chosen a contrary gender identity, male or female, just as one might choose whether to read Shakespeare or Grisham."

Parents of the children brought suit against the state, wanting to continue the supposed transitioning of their children to appear as the opposite sex. Hinkle asserted that gender identity is not a choice and said that those who believe it is "tend to disapprove all things transgender and so oppose medical care that supports a person’s transgender existence."

He claimed the children were at risk if they were not allowed to continue treatment. That risk is commonly believed to be the suicide of the child who isn't permitted to undergo a sex change.

"There are risks attendant to not using these treatments, including the risk — in some instances, the near certainty — of anxiety and depression and even suicidal ideation. The challenged statute ignores the benefits that many patients realize from these treatments and the substantial risk posed by foregoing the treatments," Hinkle proclaimed.

He claimed that the risk of allowing a child to grow into an adult naturally was greater than the risk of irreversible medical intervention.

DeSantis has been outspoken against these cultural influences, and has famously proclaimed that "Florida is where woke goes to die."