Graphic by Raj Brodie
Lily Smith
News Section Editor
In 2021, Texas set a record for the most anti-transgender measures passed by a state in one year. This year, not much appears to be changing.
In late February, the state issued a letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, telling them to categorize medical treatment for minors to transition—such as gender-affirming hormone injections and surgery—as child abuse.
Almost immediately following this statement, multiple lawsuits and court hearings have spurred. When the first investigation into a transgender teenager launched, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, responded with a lawsuit.
Coincidentally, the first investigation was launched onto one of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ employees. The employee was put on a leave of absence after stating that the directive interferes with her transgender daughter’s need for gender-affirming medical treatment. Subsequently, an investigator from the DFPS informed the mother that she was to be questioned and that the Department of Child Protective Services requests access to her child’s medical records.
In response, the ACLU has launched a lawsuit on behalf of the family, saying that the investigation “has wreaked havoc” on the family.
Involved in the case is Dr. Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist who is being asked to reveal if the child in question takes puberty-blocking medications. While the doctor is legally forced to expose such information, the ACLU argues that if Mooney reports her client’s medical information, she “would be violating her professional standards of ethics and inflict serious harm and trauma on her clients.”
On March 2nd, the family received a restraining order, temporarily blocking the state from investigating the adolescent’s case. More broadly, on March 11th, a hearing took place to determine if the new directive should be barred across the state.
In light of the situation, President Joe Biden remarked that the directive is a “cynical and dangerous campaign targeting transgender children and their parents.”
But aside from laws solely surrounding adolescents, the state has also changed guidelines for transgender athletes. On Tuesday, January 11th, House Bill 25 went into effect. The bill requires students to compete on athletic teams corresponding to the sex that they were assigned at birth. All athletic programs sponsored by a school district or the University Interscholastic League are now legally required to abide by the law.
In addition to Governor Abbott, Republicans in the House advocated for the bill’s passing, arguing that it protects women from discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX.
Though there is less legal counteraction surrounding Bill 25 in the media, Democrats all over the country have been quick to call out the transphobic theme of new legislation in Texas.
