Texas' appeals court has put a stop to one element of Texas governor Greg Abbott's anti-trans pogrom: the state's Department of Family and Protective Services may not investigate families of transgender youth seeking gender-affirming medical care. Specifically, they may not be "subjected to an unlawful and unwarranted child abuse investigation; intrusion and interference with parental decision-making" until a trial court has reviewed the policy to determine its legality.
The governor's order came shortly after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared gender-affirming surgical procedures in children and prescribing drugs affecting puberty should be considered child abuse. Abbott ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner "to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas." Within two weeks of the directive, the state had opened at least nine investigations of families, according to the department.
The court of appeals upheld a trial court decision in the Friday order, ruling in favor of LGBTQ+ advocates and families in two related Texas lawsuits asking a state court to block the agency from investigating parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care.
Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project:
"Our clients and countless families like theirs are guided by love and compassion for their transgender youth, following the guidance of their doctors and fighting for the futures their family deserves," the statement continued. "These baseless and invasive investigations are a dangerous abuse of the state's power and one we're thankful the Texas courts have consistently ruled against."
Previously: Texas`s felony-indicted Attorney General requested a list of all transgender Texans, didn`t get it
