A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump has given Florida the green light to ban most prisoners from receiving transgender hormones or dressing up as the opposite sex.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor rejected a challenge from a male inmate, Reiyn Keohane, serving time for attempted murder. The prisoner claimed that Florida is violating the Eighth Amendment, which courts have interpreted to require medically necessary care for prisoners.

Transgender ban upheld

The Florida Department of Corrections issued new guidelines that bar the use of cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria in most instances. The policy also requires men to wear clothing appropriate to their sex and to observe male grooming standards.

In his ruling, Judge Winsor said that social accommodations, like wearing women's clothing, are a preference of inmates with dysphoria rather than medically necessary care.

While some inmates have reported self-harm on being denied women's articles, "Keohane has not shown that the only proper way to address risks of self-harm is to provide inmates with whatever items they contend would reduce those risks," the judge wrote.

Winsor noted that inmates have psychotherapy available as a treatment option, and no inmates have yet had hormone treatment discontinued under the new guidelines.

"The record indicates Keohane receives extensive medical treatment relating to gender dysphoria,” Winsor wrote in the decision. “In addition to the hormone treatment currently provided, the Department makes psychotherapy available to those with gender dysphoria. This is not a case in which the Department simply provides no treatment at all.”

Trump's abiding influence

Florida's guidelines recommend traditional psychotherapy to address underlying mental health issues before proceeding to other treatment options.

The use of cross-sex hormones is only permitted in rare cases, the guidelines say, noting the "extensive" and irreversible effects of the drugs.

However, the ban is not as sweeping as it looks, Winsor noted in his ruling. Doctors may provide hormone therapy in rare cases deemed medically necessary, and hormones are being provided to prisoners by a private contractor at their expense to comply with state law barring the use of public funds on the drugs.

Still, the guidelines have been vehemently opposed by progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which calls the ban cruel and dehumanizing.

The judge's ruling underscores Trump's far-reaching impact on the federal judiciary during his first presidential term. Trump will have another four years, starting January 20, to confirm conservative judges including, potentially, justices on the Supreme Court.