Allowing certain types of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth is a form of child abuse, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says in his interpretation of state law, drawing opposition from top medical and child welfare groups.
“There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton, a Republican, said in a news release, reports The Dallas Morning News. “The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has a responsibility to act accordingly. I’ll do everything I can to protect those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.”
His opinion covers treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers and opposes medical standards from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which has authored care standards that require both medical and physical health treatments.
Paxton’s opinion doesn’t yet have the force of state law in Texas to back it up, and spokespeople for the state departments of Family and Protective Services and Health and Human Services said the agencies would review his statement, which was issued after state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, asked him for an opinion on the matter.
The attorney general argued his opinion by comparing healthcare for transgender youth to the opioid crisis and said states have an interest in regulating healthcare guidelines and the medical profession to protect the public.
“There is always the potential for novel medical determinations to promote purported remedies that may not improve patient outcomes and can even result in tragic harms,” Paxton said. “The State’s power is arguably at its zenith when it comes to protecting children.”
He also said that parents’ right to consent to “certain medically necessary procedures” doesn’t extend to “elective (not medically necessary) procedures and treatments that infringe upon a minor child’s constitutional right to procreate” while discussing surgical interventions.
Story continues at: Gender Affirmation = Child Abuse
