On Friday, a Texas judge temporarily blocked the state from investigating families of transgender children who have received gender-confirmed medical attention, a new hurdle for the state to label treatments as child abuse.
Temporary removal order issued by Judge Jan Soifer halts investigations against three families who sued and prevents any similar investigation against members of the LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG Inc. The group has over 600 members in Texas.
“I think there is sufficient reason to believe that the plaintiffs will suffer immediate and irreparable harm if the commissioner and the (Department of Family and Protective Services) can continue to implement and enforce this new Department rule which amounts to affirmative care. with child abuse, “Soifer said at the end of a 40 – minute hearing.
The ruling comes about a month after the Texas Supreme Court allowed the state to investigate the parents of transgender youth for child abuse while ruling in favor of a family that was one of the first to be contacted by U.S. officials. child welfare following the order of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
“It’s very good that families are protected from invasive, unnecessary, and disturbing research by DFPS simply to help their transgender children thrive and be themselves,” said Brian K. Bond, executive director of PFLAG National. , in a statement. “Let’s be clear, though: this research on loving and affirming families shouldn’t come first.”
The latest challenge was presented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the families of three teenage boys — two 16-year-olds and one 14-year-old — and PFLAG. A Lambda Legal lawyer told the judge that the family of the 14-year-old had learned after the lawsuit was filed that the state investigation into them had been abandoned.
Abbott spokesmen and Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
A state attorney had argued during the hearing that enforcing the order on any PFLAG member was “unsustainable” and would be difficult for the department to comply with. But Lambda Legal senior lawyer Paul Castillo said parents could simply show the affiliation receipt or some other proof of membership.
Families had spoken out in the court records of the anxiety the investigations had created for them and their children. The mother of one of the teenagers said her son attempted suicide and was hospitalized the day Abbott issued his directive. The outpatient psychiatric center where the teenager was referred reported the family for child abuse after learning that she had been prescribed hormone therapy, a court document said.
In March, a judge suspended Abbott’s order following a lawsuit filed on behalf of a 16-year-old girl whose family said she was under investigation. The Texas Supreme Court in May ruled that the lower court exceeded its authority by blocking all investigations from the future.
This lawsuit marked the first report of parents investigated after the Abbott directive and a previous non-binding legal opinion from Paxton that labeled certain gender confirmation treatments as “child abuse.” The Texas Department of Family and Welfare Service has said it opened nine investigations following the directive and opinion.
Abbott’s directive and the attorney general’s opinion go against the nation’s largest medical groups, including the American Medical Association, which have opposed Republican-backed restrictions on institutions across the country. .
Arkansas became the first state to pass a law banning gender-based confirmatory treatment for minors last year, and Tennessee passed a similar measure. A judge has blocked Arkansas law and a federal appeals court will hear arguments over the case next week.
The judge set a hearing on June 21 on whether to extend the order to a temporary precautionary measure that would block the investigations.