Texas Judge Blocks Investigations Into Trans Youth Families

Topline

A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon blocking state investigations into many families of transgender youth who have received gender-affirming care, according to multiple reports, which the state considers child abuse.

Key Facts

Travis County Judge Jan Soifer, a Democrat, made the ruling Friday in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal to stop investigations into three families of transgender teenagers.

Soifer’s order also blocks similar investigations into members of an LGBTQ advocacy group called PFLAG, which was also a plaintiff in the suit and reportedly has more than 600 members.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a directive in February for state agencies to investigate the families of youth that had received gender-affirming care–medical procedures or therapy intended to promote traits of one’s desired gender.

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes regarding the judge’s decision.

Texas has at least eight open investigations into the families of trans youth, according to the Texas Tribune.

Big Number

29,800. That’s how many transgender individuals between the ages of 13 and 17 are estimated to live in Texas, according to a study released this month by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy.

Key Background

Crafting new restrictions for transgender individuals remains a top priority for Republican state lawmakers around the country, after 2021 set a record for anti-trans legislation, according to the Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ advocacy group. Louisiana recently enacted a ban on transgender athletes competing in girls’ school sports after Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) declined to veto legislation that passed the GOP-dominated state legislature, which Edwards said would certainly override his veto. Ohio’s Republican-controlled House last week also passed a measure concerning girls’ sports, requiring a doctor to verify an athlete has female genitalia if her gender is called into question. A similar bill has also been proposed by Republicans in New Jersey, which appears unlikely to clear the state’s Democratic-majority legislature.

Further Reading

Judge temporarily blocks some Texas investigations into gender-affirming care for trans kids (Texas Tribune)

It’s not just Ohio: N.J. bill has genital checks to guard against transgender athletes (Politico)