Texas Judge Blocks Transgender ‘Child Abuse’ Investigations

Topline

A state judge blocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s divisive order for “child abuse” investigations into parents of transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care, issuing a statewide injunction Friday as the litigation against it plays out.

Transgender rights protesters at the Stonewall Inn on February 23, 2017 in New York City.

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Key Facts

Texas District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled from the bench that the directive should be blocked, following a hearing Friday in the case.

Meachum ruled there was a “substantial likelihood” that the plaintiffs challenging the law would succeed as the case plays out, ruling Abbott’s order is “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional” and the plaintiffs would be harmed if it was allowed to remain in effect.

Meachum had previously issued an injunction that blocked the state from investigating the parents who had brought a lawsuit, but her new ruling Friday applies statewide.

The directive, which Abbott issued to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in February, calls for “prompt and thorough investigation[s] ” into parents of children who have received gender-affirming treatment, after state Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a legal opinion equating the treatment to “child abuse.”

A child psychologist and parents of a transgender girl sued DFPS and Abbott in an effort to block the law, after the state launched an investigation into the parent plaintiffs that puts them at risk of consequences like being put on the state’s child abuse registry.

What To Watch For

Texas officials are expected to appeal Meachum’s ruling, though a three-judge panel at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals—made up entirely of Democrats—has already rejected one effort by the state to appeal Meachum’s previous ruling. Meachum said Friday a full trial in the case will take place in July.

Big Number

9. That’s the number of investigations DFPS has already launched, according to multiple outlets, and the Dallas Morning News reports at least three families have been visited by officials from Child Protective Services. A DFPS employee who resigned over her objections to the policy testified at a hearing Friday that employees at the agency had been told to prioritize those investigations over others, and had been directed not to put information about the probes in writing like emails or text messages.

Key Background

The Texas directive is one of a number of policies targeting transgender youth that have been enacted nationwide, but it has proved particularly divisive, with the plaintiffs noting in their lawsuit it’s the only state measure that has equated minors receiving gender-affirming care to “child abuse” or restricted doctors from treating minors with gender dysphoria. The plaintiffs also argued Abbott did not have the authority to impose the directive after the Texas legislature rejected a similar bill last year. Medical groups have overwhelmingly opposed the Texas policy—including the National Association of Social Workers, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Psychological Association—with the Texas Pediatric Society writing in a statement it would “cause undue harm to children in Texas.” Abbott and Paxton have stood by the policy, however, with the governor’s reelection campaign describing it as a political “winner” and Paxton saying Thursday he has “no doubt that the governor has the authority.”.

Tangent

The Biden administration has told families to submit complaints to the federal government if they believe they are being targeted under the policy. Bloomberg reported before Meachum’s ruling the administration has also been weighing whether to bring its own lawsuit or withhold federal funding from Texas. Paxton has tried to stop the White House from pulling funding, amending an existing lawsuit against the administration Wednesday to challenge any attempt to block federal funding due to restrictions on medical care based on sex or gender identity. It’s unclear how the federal government’s efforts will be affected by Meachum’s ruling.