A Texas family and a psychologist has filed lawsuits through the ACLU challenging a directive by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton classifying medical care for transgender children as child abuse and subjecting their parents and doctors to potential arrest, fines and imprisonment, the New Republic reports.
The enforcement directive, which directs law enforcement officials on how to apply the law, calls for anyone who enables a child to get hormone blockers or other treatments that support the child’s transition be charged criminally. This includes parents, doctors, nurses and medical facilities, which could be closed under state law.
The lawsuit, in which the family remains anonymous, claims, “The [Texas State Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protective Services] investigator disclosed that the sole allegation against Jane Doe and John Doe is that they have a transgender daughter and that their daughter may have been provided with medically necessary gender-affirming health care and is ‘currently transitioning from male to female.’”