A Texas appeals court has swatted down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to move forward on a child abuse investigation into parents who helped their transgender teen obtain gender-affirming care.
The decision, handed down Wednesday by the Third Court of Appeals, halts a state investigation into the family, who successfully sued in a lower court to stop the probe. The new ruling also allows that same court to hold a hearing in which the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal will ask the judge to block Texas from investigating other parents who provide gender-affirming care for their kids.
The legal battle transpired after Paxton, a Republican, issued a nonbinding opinion last month classifying gender-reassignment procedures and hormonal medication under the state’s definition of child abuse. Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow GOPer, subsequently issued a directive that state child welfare workers investigate families who seek such care for their children.
“This crisis in Texas is continuing every day, with state leaders weaponizing the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate families, invade their privacy, and trample on the rights of parents simply for providing the best possible health care for their kids under the guidance of doctors and medical best practices. This appeal was always groundless and DFPS and the courts need to stop this egregious government overreach,” ALCU of Texas attorney Brian Klosterboer told the Texas Tribune.
Paxton’s original opinion contradicts advice from mainstream medical and childcare organizations, and human rights groups have widely condemned Abbott’s order.
Texas has opened at least five child welfare investigations into parents of trans children since Abbott’s order, according to the Texas Tribune, which notes that the actual number is likely higher.
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This article appears in Mar 9-22, 2022.
