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The Texas State Court of Appeals reiterated the order of a district judge who temporarily blocked the governor’s order, Greg Abbott, for parents of transgender children to be investigated by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFSP).
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal, an organization dedicated to the defense of LGBTIQ+ rights, on behalf of the family of a transgender teenager, from 12 years old, whose mother works for the DFSP.
According to the entity, Nine cases have been opened since the Governor of Texas announced the start of investigations into parents who allowed their children to access treatment for gender change.
It all started after the prosecutor, Ken Paxton, ensured that certain procedures and treatments for the affirmation of gender in adolescents was child abuse. So Abbott used Paxton’s argument to order investigations into the parents, to any doctor, nurse and teacher who had knowledge about these treatments and who, in addition, would be subject to criminal penalties.
In addition, the district judge, Amy Clark Meachum, who had reviewed the case stopped the investigations previously, had considered that the The governor’s decision was unconstitutional and overstepped his authority, threatening to violate the separation of powers by granting a decision that belongs to the courts.
In this sense, the Court of Appeals reiterated the position of Judge Meachum and said attorneys defending the parents showed that allowing DFPS to probe them could cause irreparable harm.
“We conclude that reaffirming the temporary order is necessary to maintain the status quo and preserve the rights of both parties,” the court wrote.
The decision temporarily pauses the parents’ investigation while the case goes to trial.
The decision de Abbott is part of the efforts of Republican governors and legislators in different states of the country to pass laws and measures that question LGBTIQ+ youth . This year’s legislative agendas put dozens of bills on the US map aimed at criminalizing the movement.
In Florida, the Republican majority in the Senate approved a law called “Don’t say gay”, which prohibits elementary educational institutions from teaching issues related to gender identity or sexual orientation.
On the other hand, in the state of Alabama, lawmakers passed a bill that prevents students through high school from using the bathroom or locker room that conforms to their gender identity. Additionally, if another bill passes, it would prevent gender-affirming medical care and surgeries until 19 years.
Also Arizona, which has close to 12 bills, according to Freedom for all Americans, a bipartisan campaign seeking non-discrimination of the LGBTIQ+ community. One of them would prohibit doctors from offering help for their gender affirmation to minors 16 years.
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