The American Civil Liberties Union took aim at Texas officials for framing gender-affirming medical care for trans children as child abuse and for urging people to report parents to state authorities.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during the Houston Region Business meeting. Abbott gave an update on the state's business environment. Brandon Bell poses for a picture.
Abbott asked the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to open investigations into the parents of children who receive gender-affirming care, and called on licensed professionals to report the children.
Many forms of gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery are considered child abuse by the Texas Attorney General.
The Texas American Civil Liberties Union said in a release Wednesday that the courts are responsible for interpreting state laws, and no court in Texas or elsewhere in the US has ever found gender-affirming care to be child abuse.
NBC News reported that new legislation may be needed to open child abuse probes into trans children.
The opinion ignores the consensus of every major medical association and the evidence-based and peer-reviewed standards of care, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Texas ACLU did not provide any additional comment to Forbes, and the offices of Abbott and Paxton did not respond to requests for comment.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who handles civil child abuse cases in the Houston area, responded to Abbott and Paxton's decisions by saying his office will not participate in bad faith politics.
The White House deputy press secretary told the Dallas Morning News that conservativism should not be involved in healthcare decisions.
Over the past year, Republican officials in several states have attempted to pass legislation that would limit or cut off access to some forms of gender-affirming medical care. Tennessee and Arkansas passed bills last year that denied certain medical treatments to some young people. Similar legislation has been discussed by state lawmakers in Texas. The restrictions on medical care for trans youth have no basis in science and are potentially damaging, according to several medical organizations. In a statement to NBC News, the international medical organization that studies hormones said that Abbott's order repudiates evidence-based medical care.
Legal challenges have been faced by some of the laws focused on trans people. A judge stopped Arkansas from banning gender-affirming medical care for children. A federal judge stopped a Tennessee law that would have forced businesses to post warning signs if they allowed trans people to use their bathroom.
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