Texas may open abuse inquiries into childhood transgender treatments

Texas’ nine state Supreme Court justices, all Republicans, decided Friday that a lower court overstepped its authority by blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to investigate parents of children who receive transgender treatments. But they also ruled that the Department of Family and Protective Services was not bound by Abbott’s directive. Under the ruling, the state Supreme Court blocked a child abuse investigation into one plaintiff family but said the ruling did not apply to all parties. 

What did the court decide about the family? The parents, identified only as Jane and John Doe, sued the state after DFPS opened an investigation into transgender procedures on their 16-year-old child. The mother worked at DFPS at the time but was placed on leave. Transgender advocates say eight other cases will likely be dropped. Attorney General Ken Paxton has appealed the decision. The court did not rule on the merits of whether the investigations violate family rights, but an appeals court is expected to hear arguments on it later this month.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberties about a Biden administration push for “gender-affirming” procedures.