Texas Loses Appeal Over Investigation Of Trans Teen's Family, Abuse Allegations
(CBSDFW.COM/AP) - A Texas court on Wednesday, March 8, tossed out the state's appeal of an order preventing child welfare officials from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager over gender-confirming care the youth received.
The Texas Court of Appeals dismissed Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's appeal of the temporary order a judge issued last week halting the investigation by the Department of Family and Protective Services into the parents of the 16-year-old girl.
The parents sued over the investigation and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's order that officials look into reports of such treatments as abuse.
"Their actions caused terror and anxiety among transgender youth and their families across the Lone Star State and singled out transgender youth and their families," the lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, said.
The lawsuit marked the first report of parents being investigated following Abbott's directive and an earlier non-binding legal opinion by Paxton labeling certain gender-confirming treatments as "child abuse." The lawsuit doesn't name the parents, but said the mother works at DFPS on the review of reports of abuse and neglect. The day of Abbott's order, she asked her supervisor how it would affect the agency's policy, according to the lawsuit.
Her daughter, who has received puberty-delaying medication and hormone therapy, has been "traumatized" by the prospect of being separated from her parents and losing her care, the lawsuit said.
"The stress has taken a noticeable toll on her, and our daughter who is typically joyful and happy, is now moodier, stressed, and overwhelmed," the mother said in a declaration filed with the complaint.
The appeals court's decision clears the way for the judge to hold a hearing on whether to issue a broader temporary order blocking enforcement of Abbott's directive.
DFPS, which last week said it did not have any open cases, said Tuesday it had received three reports since Abbott's directive and Paxton's opinion but would not say how many resulted in investigations.
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 filed in statehouses nationwide.
