A federal appeals court has ruled that Florida can continue pursuing legal action against the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), marking a victory for Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in his effort to challenge what he alleges are misleading claims about the safety of sex-change procedures for minors.
According to Reuters, a Chicago-based panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned a June 22 ruling that had prevented Florida from moving forward with its lawsuit against the AAP. The decision removes legal barriers that had temporarily blocked the state's case while broader litigation continues.
Uthmeier celebrated the ruling in a statement posted Wednesday on social media, arguing that the appeals court rejected the lower court’s attempt to halt Florida’s lawsuit.
“CA7 saw right through the Chicago-based district court’s attempt to stop our lawsuit against AAP for their deception on the safety of mutilating procedures on kids and removed every barrier the court tried to put up,” Uthmeier wrote. “Accountability will proceed in Florida!”
Neither Uthmeier’s office nor the American Academy of Pediatrics immediately responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The underlying lawsuit was originally filed by Uthmeier in December 2025. In the complaint, the attorney general alleged that the AAP promoted sex-change procedures for minors as safe and reversible despite what he argued was insufficient scientific evidence supporting those claims.
Earlier this year, however, Clinton-appointed U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennedy of Illinois ruled against the attorney general’s effort.
On June 8, Kennedy determined that the lawsuit could not proceed. In a written opinion dated June 2, the judge stated that Uthmeier was “retaliating against AAP without a reasonable expectation of success,” according to previous reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Following that ruling, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged the appeals court to leave the injunction in place while the broader appeal was considered.
In a June 9 court filing, the organization argued that allowing Uthmeier’s appeal to move forward “would allow Uthmeier to resume the retaliatory and unconstitutional enforcement action in Florida state court that the district court determined is causing irreparable harm to AAP while this Court considers the stay motion.”
The legal battle has also drawn support from attorneys general across the country.
Twenty-one state attorneys general filed an amicus brief backing Florida’s appeal, arguing that the lower court improperly evaluated Florida law when blocking the lawsuit.
The coalition argued that no Florida court had determined the attorney general’s claims lacked merit under state law.
“No Florida court has yet ruled that the Attorney General’s claims are utterly without merit under Florida law, and it very well may turn out that the Attorney General will win his lawsuit in state court,” the attorneys general wrote.
The coalition further argued that the Illinois federal court failed to analyze how Florida courts would interpret Florida law, instead relying on its own assessment of the lawsuit’s strength.
According to the filing, the district court “did not even attempt to discern how Florida courts would apply their law,” noting that the judge did not cite any Florida court decisions before concluding the claims were weak.
Reuters also reported that Judge Kennedy chose to address Uthmeier’s appeal from the bench rather than sending it before a traditional three-judge appellate panel, which the news outlet described as the standard practice.
The litigation remains ongoing. While the appeals court removed the injunction blocking Florida’s enforcement action, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is still considering the American Academy of Pediatrics’ broader appeal.
Judge Scudder, dissenting from the June 22 injunction, described the lower court’s order as a “grievous blow to federalism,” underscoring the legal disagreement surrounding the case as it continues through the courts.
