Texas Judge Imposes Statewide Ban on Child Abuse Investigations into Parents of Transgender Children 

A Texas judge on Friday imposed a statewide ban on child abuse investigations into the parents of transgender children.

After Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion that said gender-affirming health care is considered child abuse under state law, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott implemented a directive authorizing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents who allow their children to receive hormone therapy and other gender-transitioning procedures.

Travis County District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued an order Friday that prevents such investigations from occurring statewide. Meachum claimed the governor’s actions “violate separation of powers by impermissibly encroaching into the legislative domain.”

Friday’s decision came one week after she issued a temporary order preventing the state from investigating one Texas parent for child abuse.

The parent, a DFPS employee identified only as Jane Doe, brought the legal challenges with the help of Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

After a full day of hearings, Meachum extended her initial ruling to the entire state.

The New York Times reported:

An investigations supervisor at the Department of Family and Protective Services testified that after the governor’s order, abuse investigators had been told to prioritize cases involving the parents of transgender children and to investigate them without exception.

Paxton already signaled he is willing to take this legal battle to Texas’s Supreme Court.

“It’s an Austin-based court, a more liberal version of a judge. So we’re definitely going to appeal that and take it to the Texas Supreme Court. I have no doubt that the governor has the authority to do what he’s doing,” Paxton told a local radio host on Thursday.

The case is Jane Doe v. Abbott, No. D-1-GN-22-000977 in the District Court of Travis County.