This entire situation is confusing legally, so first let’s go into some background. Abbott directed state agencies to pursue these investigations based on an analysis of existing law by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. The analysis is a nonbinding legal opinion. It is not a law. Paxton’s opinion, in short, argues that families who support their trans and nonbinary youth in accessing gender-affirming health care are abusing them. Within a few days of the opinion’s release, Abbott directed state agencies to pursue such investigations.
A growing number of families—including the Briggles, who have gotten much national attention for their advocacy and having literally hosted Paxton at their home in the past—already say they’ve been visited by state agents for home inspections.
A lawsuit has already been filed about this nightmare. The result has been that one family has been barred from these investigations. That’s a victory, sure, but again, it’s in reference to the one family who brought the suit. At the time of writing, at least nine families have active investigations against them for potential child abuse, per Paxton and Abbott’s hysteria.
So, bringing us up to the present news, the ACLU and Lambda have brought a new suit, this time on behalf of three specific families and all 600 or so members of PLFAG in the state. The suit argues that all Texas members of the organization are at a “substantial risk of harm” whether youth are trans or questioning.
“I am offended and hurt that my state government wants to make it unlawful for trans youth like me to be ourselves,” one of the teenagers said in the filing. “And that DFPS, the governor, and the attorney general are willing to persecute families like mine simply for loving and supporting their trans children.”
The lawsuit details the experience of a 16-year-old trans boy who tried to die by suicide the same day Abbott issued his directive. According to the suit, the teenager, who said they have been repeatedly misgendered while at school, survived the attempt and was admitted to an outpatient psychiatric facility. At the facility, however, staff became aware he was receiving gender-affirming health care, including hormonal therapy.
One week after he was discharged from the facility, a DFHS investigator came to the family’s home. The investigator reportedly told the family they were there because the facility had reported the family for child abuse.
“Being called an ‘alleged perpetrator’ in my own living room shocked me,” a parent said in a declaration as part of the suit. “And I immediately felt harm and stigma for being falsely accused of harming my own child simply by providing him with medically necessary health care.”
To this day, this family is under investigation.
These investigations are traumatic. They are stressful. They are a waste of state funding. Much like anti-abortion legislation based around reporting abortion seekers and providers, this directive essentially empowers transphobes to report any family they see as potentially supportive of trans youth. This concept obviously makes already marginalized people distrustful of teachers, coaches, neighbors, coworkers, and even family and friends. The ultimate result is, of course, pushing folks into the closet and eventually getting them to stop accessing care and living openly.
That's sick, but that’s the Republican way. And all the while, conservatives are trying to spin their discriminatory bills as being about trans kids playing sports.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available. Speak with someone today.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. (After July 2022, this emergency number will change to 988.)
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