On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court allowed the state to continue to investigate parents of transgender minors for child abuse, an initiative that was launched under GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Associated Press reported that the Court also ruled in favor of one family with a 16-year old “transgender” teenager that was among the first few contacted by child welfare officials for an investigation.
Lambda Legal, which helped bring the lawsuit against Texas on behalf of the parents of the 16-year-old girl, called the decision a win because it put the state’s investigation into their family on hold. Although the ruling does not prevent Texas from launching investigations into other families, the state would be foolish to do so now because those families could also seek an injunction, said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal.
Townhall covered in March that a Texas judge halted the investigations after it ruled that it violated the state’s constitution. The injunction came weeks after the investigations first started.
The New York Times had reported that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services began the investigations following an order from Abbott and a “non-binding” opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton that said parents who provide their children with puberty-suppressing drugs or other “gender-affirming” treatments could be investigated for child abuse.
In an interview with Townhall, Paxton said that the Texas Family Code prohibits this type of treatment on minors.
“When performed on children, these procedures are 'abuse' under Texas law. They’re illegal. And family courts, family-law government agencies, and the like must do their part to stop it," Paxton said.