CNN —
In an attempt to prevent the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services from investigating families of transgender children who are seeking gender-affirming health care for their children, a Texas appeals court upheld two rulings in two legal situations on Friday.
After Texas Governor, the legal fight broke out. Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state agency to launch investigations into parents who give their children the medication in February 2022. The treatment, which many major health organizations have deemed safe, effective, and probably lifesaving, was banned in September by state law.
The governor issued the order immediately after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that child abuse should be a condition for surgical procedures performed on kids and for the use of puberty-causing medications. The Department of Family and Protective Services was given the directive from Abbott to launch a swift and comprehensive investigation of any reports of these alleged abuses in the State of Texas. Within two weeks of the order, the state had opened at least nine studies of people, according to the office.
In two related Texas complaints, the court of appeals upheld a trial court’s decision in the Friday purchase, ruling in favor of LGBTQ+ activists and households. The case asks a state court to stop the company from investigating parents who give their children gender-affirming treatment.
The court order prevents the state from carrying out a department concept that expands the definition of “baby abuse” and requires child abuse examinations into every statement of a trans child receiving gender-affirming medical attention until a test can be held to determine whether the plan is unlawful.
The trial judge ruled that transgender minors and teens’ people would suffer as a result of being “subjected to an immoral and unnecessary child abuse analysis, intrusion, and disturbance with familial decision-making.” The so-called “Doe” family filed a lawsuit in March after the household claimed the Department of Family and Protective Services had an investigation into their transgender young.
The judge added that “the deprivation or disturbance of medically necessary treatment for the parents’ youthful children” and “the cold of the workout of the right of Texas parents to make medical decisions for their children based on the advice and recommendations of their health care providers acting in accordance with prevailing clinical guidelines” would harm people.
‘Dangerous abuse of state power,’ advocacy group says
A district court judge in Travis County ordered the state to temporarily stop investigating families in March 2022, citing the governor’s directive to the Department of Family and Protective Services, and the trial was scheduled for July.
In March, Paxton filed an appeal against the district court’s injunction and said investigations could continue under the law. Later that month, Lambda Legal and the ACLU filed a request with the appellate court, arguing that “prevent imminent and irreparable harm” and that a reinstatement of the temporary injunction were necessary.
The state’s Third Court of Appeals then ruled in favor of the civil rights organizations, saying that “to follow the Governor’s directive pending the outcome of this litigation would result in irreparable harm” and that a temporary injunction is required to “preserve the rights of all parties” while the appeals process is in progress.
In a ruling in May, the Texas Supreme Court also argued Abbott’s directive “cites no legal authority” and does not legally bind the department to follow his directive, unlike some of his other executive orders. The court, in its opinion, also affirmed Paxton’s opinion does not alter preexisting law or legal obligations of the department.
Governor has reached out to CNN. For comment, please contact Abbott’s office and the Department of Family and Protective Services.
Many people thought Abbott’s directive to the organization was an attack on transgender children and their families. The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among other important medical organizations, have endorsed gender-affirming care as clinically appropriate for both children and adults who have gender dysphoria, a psychological disorder that may arise when a person’s gender identity and sex assignment at birth do not align.
Some of the therapies’ critics argue that children should wait until adulthood before making the transition. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics claims that it is an outdated approach that assumes gender identity is fixed at a certain age. According to research, it is preferable to value a child for who they are as opposed to what they will become. And some therapies, such as puberty blockers, are reversible, while related surgeries are rare, according to an analysis of health insurance claims from 2017 to 2021.
Senate Bill 14 of the new state law, Senate Bill 14, forbids medical professionals from performing gender transition surgeries, hormone replacement therapy, or other hormone therapies on minors who are under 18. In addition, violators run the risk of losing their licenses. Measures like it have been pushed in recent years – along with a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills – across US states, largely by Republicans, including some who’ve argued bans on such care protect against “irreversible” biological changes facilitated by parents.
“We are grateful the court saw through this dangerous and transparently discriminatory action by Texas officials,” said Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, after the ruling.
Our clients and countless families like theirs are guided by love and compassion for transgender youth, following their doctors’ orders, and fighting for the futures their families deserve, the statement continued. We’re grateful that Texas courts have consistently rejected these baseless and invasive investigations because they constitute a dangerous abuse of the state’s power.
Amir Vera and Ashley Killough both contributed to this report for CNN.
