Texas judge blocks plan to treat trans child therapy as abuse

Washington, March 11 (EFE) .- A judge in Texas, United States, temporarily blocked the state’s plan Friday to treat parents or doctors who allow trans minors to undergo gender transition medical treatments, such as hormonal therapies, as “child abuse.”

Judge Amy Clark Meachum called the order issued by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott “unconstitutional,” which opened the door to criminal convictions for doctors and parents.

Meachum temporarily suspended the application of the measure, saying it was likely that a 16-year-old trans teenager’s parents, among the first to be investigated under the order and who sued the state, will end up prevailing in the trial on the issue, scheduled for July.

Any investigation of parents or doctors launched by the state must be stalled at least until the trial is concluded, according to Meacham’s ruling, which could still be appealed by state authorities.

In late February, the Texas governor ordered the Family and Protective Services Department to investigate “gender transition” processes in minors, including the hormone administration.

Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch harshly criticized the plan to “criminalize” gender transition in minors.

The state of New York requested this week that the Justice Department examine the issue, and dozens of brands such as Google, Apple, Meta, Levi’s and Ikea launched an advertising campaign Friday in Texas against the measure, under the slogan “discrimination is bad for business.”

In a written statement filed in the lawsuit, the mother of the trans teen who has sued Texas said she was “terrified” for her daughter’s well-being since she learned she was being investigated by authorities.

Psychologist Megan Mooney, who treats trans minors and who joined the lawsuit against Texas after learning she was required to report alleged “child abuse” to her patients, said the governor’s order has generated “panic” among state doctors.

“She puts the medical professionals I work with in a horrible position,” Mooney said at Friday’s hearing.

The one in Texas is one of the many hostile measures towards the LGBTI community recently promoted in the United States, where 17 state laws of this type were signed in 2021, more than in the last three years combined, according to NGO Human Rights Campaign.

This week, the Florida Senate passed a controversial bill that would ban teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms between kindergarten and third grade, a measure critics dubbed “Don’t say gay.” EFE

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