Judge blocks Texas governor’s order to investigate parents of transgender children
A TEXAS judge has blocked investigations into the parents of transgender minors, temporarily halting a controversial directive by the southern US state’s governor.
Judge Amy Clark ruled late on Friday that Greg Abbott’s decision was unconstitutional, saying transgender minors and their parents would suffer “imminent and irreparable injury” if the directive was not halted, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“Victory,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Texas said on Twitter.
Mr Abbott issued the directive late last month to the DFPS to investigate instances of minors receiving genderaffirming medication and “sex change procedures”, which he argued “constitute child abuse under existing Texas law”.
The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, a Republican, said he would appeal against the ruling.
“Democrat judge tries to halt legal and necessary investigations into those trying to abuse our kids through ‘trans’ surgeries and prescription drugs,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I’m appealing. I’ll win this fight to protect our Texas children.”
The ACLU and Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ rights organisation, had already managed to suspend an investigation into the parents of a 16-year-old transgender girl earlier this month, filing a lawsuit on behalf of the mother.
Shortly after Mr Abbott’s directive, the mother had been suspended by her employer, the DFPS, and visited by a state investigator who sought to learn whether her child was “currently transitioning from male to female,” court documents said.
Joe Biden, the US President, has condemned Mr Abbott for what he called a “cynical and dangerous campaign targeting transgender children and their parents”.
Gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, much like participation by transgender athletes in sports competitions or the use of toilets according to their gender identity, is the subject of extensive debate in the US, where many conservative states have moved to adopt restrictive regulations.