SERIOUSLY?

Texas Guv Sinks to New Low in Persecuting Trans Kids

The state’s child welfare agency said it would begin probing cases of gender-affirming surgery as “child abuse” after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive.

Following a directive from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the state’s child welfare agency has said it will begin looking at cases of transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care as potential child abuse. Abbott’s letter was sent to the Department of Family and Protective Services on Tuesday, a day after state Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion arguing that minors were too young to consent to gender-affirming treatments. Under state law, he wrote, medical care like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries were considered child abuse, as they caused “mental or emotional injury.” Paxton’s opinion was published by his office after Republican state Rep. Matt Krause asked him for clarity on the issue. The state Senate last year failed to pass a bill that would have made administering, supplying, or consenting to gender-affirming treatments a felony. A state CPS spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday that the agency had no pending cases related to Abbott’s directive, but that it would investigate any future allegations.