Texas officials are investigating parents of transgender youths for possible child abuse

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has begun investigating parents of transgender adolescents seeking gender-affirming medical care for potential child abuse, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Travis County court. The investigations follow a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott to state agencies to investigate reports of transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care as child abuse. He warned that educators, medical professionals and others who don’t report alleged abuse could face consequences. The Dallas Morning News has reached out to Abbott’s office and is awaiting a response. One day prior to Abbott’s order, Attorney General Ken Paxton released a nonbinding opinion that said certain types of medical care for trans adolescents — including hormone therapy and puberty blockers — are a form of child abuse. Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas went to court in Travis County to try to halt an inquiry into a DFPS employee who has a 16-year-old transgender child.

The unnamed employee was put on administrative leave last week, according to the lawsuit. DFPS, which sent an investigator to visit the employee on Friday, is reportedly seeking medical records for the child, referred to as Mary Doe in the court filings. Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist in Houston who is considered a mandatory reporter under Texas law, joined the family as a plaintiff in the suit. Mooney cannot comply with Abbott’s directive without “harming her clients and violating her ethical obligations,” according to a statement from Lambda Legal. Transgender youth and their families could face harm “when they’re subjected to an investigation that is completely baseless and unwarranted and could have really serious consequences,” Currey Cook, senior council for Lambda Legal, said in an interview. “For this family, it means that they could ultimately have a finding of abuse or neglect against them, be put on the state registry — and that has serious implications for employment,” he said. Abbott’s and Paxton’s orders do not change Texas law, so it’s unclear whether they will hold up in court.