Texas Has Started Investigating Families of Transgender Youth for Potential Child Abuse, Lawsuit Says

According to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Lambda Legal, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is now investigating families of transgender children in the state after Gov. Greg Abbott and state attorney General Ken Paxton issued non-binding opinions that certain kinds of gender-affirming care are child abuse. 

While the lawsuit references more than one investigation, it centers around one DFPS employee who has a transgender daughter. Called Jane Doe in the lawsuit, she was put on leave and DFPS opened an investigation into the family for potential child abuse, the suit claims. The suit is attempting to block DFPS from investigating parents of transgender children who seek gender-affirming care.

Investigators have visited Jane Doe's home, according to the lawsuit, traumatizing her daughter. “The stress has taken a noticeable toll on her, and her parents have observed how their daughter who is typically joyful and happy, is now moodier, stressed, and overwhelmed,” the lawsuit says. And, the lawsuit notes that if they are found guilty, Jane and her husband will automatically be placed on the child abuse registry — all for getting their daughter healthcare.

“We are terrified for Mary’s health and well-being, and for our family,” Jane Doe wrote in a declaration filed with the lawsuit. "The actions by DFPS, the Governor, and the Attorney General threaten the health and wellbeing of transgender youth like Mary and the integrity of families like ours. We deserve better from our state and government."

On February 21, Paxton issued an opinion that certain hormone-blocking drugs and gender affirmation surgeries could constitute child abuse under Texas law. The next day, Abbott sent a letter to DFPS commissioner Jaime Masters (also named on the lawsuit), directing the agency to investigate reports of care that Paxton opined could constitute abuse as such. According to the New York Times, these missives don't change the law, which the lawsuit notes does not criminalize gender affirming care.

Beyond the law, the country's foremost medical associations have reinforced that affirming healthcare for transgender youth is critical and can be life-saving. And, research published in JAMA Network Open found that gender-affirming care for transgender teens "was associated with 60% lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality over a 12-month follow-up."

“No family should have to fear being torn apart because they are supporting their trans child,” said Adri Pérez , policy and advocacy strategist at the ACLU of Texas, in a statement. “A week before an election, Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a partisan political attack that isn’t rooted in the needs of families, the evidence from doctors and the expertise from child welfare professionals. Families with trans kids in Texas have been under attack for too long. Gender-affirming health care saved my life, and other trans Texans should be able to access medically necessary, lifesaving care.”

The lawsuit claims DFPS is acting outside its scope of power in launching such an investigation, since the law has not changed. Abbott's letter directing the agency to act and the Attorney General's opinion that certain kinds of care might be child abuse are non-binding, according to the lawsuit. While Texas hasn't passed a law regarding gender-affirming care, it's one of many states where lawmakers are attempting to erode the rights of transgender children. In the past, the ACLU challenged an Arkansas law that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The law was blocked by a federal court, pending trial in July.

As lawmakers debate who is and isn't deserving of medical care, Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Paul Castillo said in a statements that “cruelty is the point.”

“Gender-affirming care for the treatment of gender dysphoria is medically necessary care, full stop,” Castillo said. "Criminalizing that care and threatening to tear children from their families is unconscionable and terrifying, and cannot stand.”

A hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order will be held on Wednesday morning.