Texas Blocked Plan to Consider Abuse of Children’s Therapies

A judge in Austin on Friday temporarily blocked that state’s plan to investigate as “child abuse” parents or doctors who allow trans minors to undergo gender transition medical treatments, such as hormone therapies. Judge Amy Clark Meachum called “unconstitutional” the order issued in this regard by the governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, which opened the door to criminal convictions for doctors and parents. Meachum temporarily suspended the application of the measure considering it likely that the parents of a 16-year-old trans teenager, who were among the first to be investigated under the order and who have sued the state, will end up prevailing in the trial on the subject, scheduled for July. Read more: Russians and Ukrainians arrive in Tijuana to apply for asylum in the United StatesAny investigation of parents or doctors initiated by the state so far must be paralyzed at least until the trial concludes, according to Meacham’s ruling, which could still be appealed by state authorities. In late February, the governor of Texas ordered the state Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate “gender transition” processes in minors, including the administration of hormones. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) harshly criticized Texas’ plan to “criminalize” gender transition in minors. The state of New York asked this week that the Department of Justice examine the issue, and dozens of brands such as Google, Apple, Meta, Levi’s or Ikea launched an advertising campaign in Texas against the measure on Friday, under the slogan “discrimination is bad for business.” In a written statement filed in the litigation, the mother of the trans teenager who has sued Texas said she was “terrified” of her daughter’s well-being since learning she was being investigated by authorities. The mother, who has remained anonymous, testified at the hearing dressed in a wig and glasses, and declared herself in her brief “betrayed” by her state and by the DFPS agency, in which she works, although she has been suspended from her position, according to The New York newspaper Times.La psychologist Megan Mooney, who cares for trans minors and joined the lawsuit against Texas upon learning it was required to report alleged “child abuse” to its patients, said the governor’s order has generated “panic” among the state’s doctors. It puts the medical professionals I work with in a horrible position,” Mooney said at Friday’s hearing. The one in Texas is one of many measures hostile to the LGBTI population that have been promoted recently in the United States, where in 2021 17 such state laws were signed, more than in the last three years combined, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Police crash their patrol car into drunk driver to avoid a tragedy in the U.S. This week, the Florida Senate has passed a controversial bill that will prohibit teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms between kindergarten and third grade, a measure dubbed by its detractors as “Don’t say gay.” Topolobampo Carnival begins in Ahome, Sinaloa

Original source in Spanish