The families of kids undergoing gender transition treatments in the state of Texas are suing in hopes of stopping potential investigations into child abuse related to the life-altering “therapies.”
The families are suing the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) as they claim the agency is investigating them for providing gender transition treatments to minors.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, representing three families of the children involved.
The suit specifically names the agency’s director, Jaime Masters, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott as plaintiffs in the case.
According to a report from the Texas Tribune, the lawsuit seeks to block Texas from investigating families that belong to PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group. The report alleges there are currently nine families being investigated by the state for providing life-altering treatments to underage children.
A previous lawsuit seeking to block the state’s actions was blocked by the state’s Supreme Court, allowing the investigations to continue.
The actions come after Governor Abbott directed state officials to investigate families and providers who offer gender transition services to minor children in February.
The order by Gov. Abbott follows statements by the state’s attorney general saying state law characterizes the practices as child abuse.
In a letter sent to DFPS, Abbot said, “To protect Texas children from abuse, DFPS and all other state agencies must follow the law.”
Under the order, licensed care professionals will be required to report “children who may be subject to such abuse.”
The treatments in question include “reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen,” the letter states.
Abbott also directed DFPS to investigate the parents of transgender children. He asked them to investigate licensed facilities’ practices where minors receive gender transition procedures.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a February statement that the procedures are considered child abuse under Texas law. He called the procedures “monstrous and tragic,” saying it is “obvious harm” in a post on Twitter.
According to a report from The Hill, the new lawsuit against Texas alleges that the state’s actions “have caused terror and anxiety among transgender youth and their families across the Lone Star State and singled out transgender youth and their families for discrimination and harassment.”