Texas judge blocks child abuse investigations for transgender care
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday banning the state’s child abuse investigations into a family group that allowed doctors to prescribe gender-defining medical care charged to their transgender youth.
Judge Jan Soifer of the State of Travis County paused the investigations for 14 days before taking the next step, a hearing on whether to issue a longer injunction against the Department of Families and State Protective Services or not.
Soifer’s order comes in response to a lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of PFLAG, a longstanding LGBTQ advocacy group, and three Texas families with transgender children.
Under the terms of the judge’s order, investigations into the three families must stop and other families can stop investigations by notifying Child Protective Services that they are members of the PFLAG, according to the statement. Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Texas, filed the lawsuit.
Paul Castillo, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, said: “We are relieved that – for now at least – the threat of a child abuse investigation no longer lingers at the heads of agencies. the PFLAG family in Texas,” said Paul Castillo, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, in a statement.
STATE HIGH COURT PROVISIONS:Child abuse investigations in Texas for sex-affirmation care thwarted by state Supreme Court ruling
LAW GUIDELINES:New lawsuit aims to stop Texas from treating transgender care as child abuse
The lawsuit challenges Governor Greg Abbott’s February directive that ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of sex-affirming medical care as child abuse.
The challenge follows an earlier lawsuit that resulted in another Travis County judge ordering a halt to abuse investigations. The state’s appeal, however, led to the Texas Supreme Court’s segregation decision last month that the order only applies to one family that filed the lawsuit but allows other investigations to continue if Child welfare investigators are presented with a case. real child abuse allegations, not Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Opinion on Child Abuse.
In one idea sided with the majority of the court, Senior Judge Debra Lehrmann said Texas Department of Family and Protective Services rules prohibit the department from investigating reports where the “sole basis” for abuse could be The purpose is to facilitate or provide medical treatment of gender affirmation.
Stephen Sheppard, former dean of St. Mary’s Hospital in San Antonio, said the Texas Supreme Court ruling showed the justices opposed implementing directives from Abbott and Paxton.
“Every member of the Supreme Court of Texas has demonstrated the very thorough procedural oversight sought by the Texas Attorney General,” Sheppard said. “None of them seemed happy with the Texas Attorney General for a variety of reasons, and those reasons generated mixed opinions.”
This week’s lawsuit comes after child abuse investigations continued in several families seeking medical care to help minors cope with gender dysphoria, grief caused when a person’s physical characteristics do not match their gender identity.
Brian Bond, executive director of PFLAG National, praised Soifer for defending the families who filed the lawsuit and every other Texas member of his organization.
“The fact that families will be protected from abusive, unnecessary and disturbing investigations by DFPS is simply for the sake of helping their transgender children grow and be who they are,” Bond said. is a very good thing,” said Bond. “However, let’s be clear – these loving and affirming family investigations shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Contribution: Claire Thornton, USA TODAY