Appeals court clears way for Florida lawsuit against American Academy of Pediatrics to proceed

A federal appeals court cleared the way Sept. 14 for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to proceed with a lawsuit accusing the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and two other medical organizations of misleading the public about the safety and effectiveness of “transgender” medical interventions for minors.

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago returned the case to the federal district court, allowing it to lift a preliminary injunction that had prevented Uthmeier from pursuing the Florida lawsuit against the AAP. 

The decision came after the AAP voluntarily dismissed its own federal lawsuit in Illinois, which had sought to halt Florida’s case. 

Uthmeier filed the original lawsuit in December 2025 in Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit Court against the AAP, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the Endocrine Society. The suit accused the groups of violating Florida’s deceptive trade practices and racketeering laws by making misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors with gender dysphoria despite serious risks and limited evidence of long-term benefits. 

The AAP responded in March by suing Uthmeier in Chicago federal court. It claimed Florida’s suit was politically motivated and filed in bad faith to retaliate against the organization’s speech and advocacy in support of the “transgender” medical interventions. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, sided with the AAP in June and temporarily blocked Florida from pursuing the case. 

A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit initially refused to pause the injunction. But in July, the full appeals court took the rare step of taking up the case, vacating the panel ruling, and pausing the injunction, as Zeale News previously reported. The AAP later dropped its federal case, leading to the Sept. 14 decision.

Uthmeier thanked the 7th Circuit in a Sept. 14 post on X, saying the judges had acted “quickly on a problem that should’ve never reached their court in the first place.” 

He added that the AAP “must be held accountable for deceiving parents about the safety of transgender procedures on kids, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, also welcomed the decision on social media, saying it was “important for the 7th Circuit to exercise some adult supervision.”