Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s opinion classifying pediatric gender-affirming care as child abuse was based off inaccurate medical claims, a team of...
The researchers included three medical doctors and two PhDs from Yale University, all of whom treat transgender children and adolescents, a Yale Law School professor and a PhD affiliated with UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center Dallas.
Paxton’s opinion on the use of transgender medical care in adolescent patients, issued in late February, had rippling effects across the state. Gov. Greg Abbott immediately directed Child Protective Services to investigate families with children receiving such care, and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston halted its gender-affirming services.
The state has launched at least nine child abuse investigations. These probes are on hold while a Houston psychologist and parents of a transgender teen sue the state to overturn the policy. Paxton has appealed to the Texas Supreme Court to restart the investigations.Paxton falsely states that minors are being surgically sterilized.
Paxton falsely implied that children who have not reached puberty are being given hormone therapies, and he greatly exaggerated the risks of these treatments. Paxton omits mentions of safeguards put in place to ensure medical treatments are necessary, and that the youth and parents have consented to such care.Paxton relied on “debunked and out-of-date studies” as well as a website created by “political activists with little or no relevant scientific expertise.