Anti-Trans Legislation
Protesters protest the new wave of anti-trans laws
Texas Governer Greg Abbott issued a letter to Texas state health agencies announcing that delivering gender-affirming medical treatments to transgender youths “constitutes child abuse” under state law. Doctors, nurses, and teachers are now legally required to report parents who aid their child in receiving such care to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). If they fail to report such “abuse” to authorities, they may be subject to criminal penalties. This leaves parents of transgender youth feeling caught between two choices: support their children or face a possible Child Protectice Services (CPS) investigation.
Texas’ new trans order
Last fall, Texas became the latest state to restrict trans students’ participation in school sports, while state legislators proposed dozens of other anti-trans bills that didn’t pass. Dallas opened the state’s first speciality clinic for trans children, but it closed late last year, after facing a targeted harassment campaign. The “save our children” rhetoric has been central to the anti-LGBTQ+ conservatism in the state. Governor Abbott’s anti-trans letter made a point noting that members of the public have a duty to report child abuse. The Texas order follows the state’s recent extremely restrictive abortion law, which included a provision incentivizing people to file a civil lawsuit against anyone violating the ban.
Families affected
Annaliese and Rachel, both mothers in Texas who have transgener children, speak out about the emotional and mental toll this order has had on their families. Families should be able to freely support their children and children should be able to freely express themselves without having to worry about discriminating legislature. Expression of sexuality should not be left to be defined under the hands of the government.
More protestors protest the anti-trans laws.
Personal accounts
Jackson, who is transgender, had received his first shot of testosterone in February. Months earlier, the state legislature had tried and failed to pass a bill criminalizing gender-affirming care. The more that Jackson read about these bills, the more frightened he became. Bills criminalizing gender-affirming care was like an active threat to those supporting loved ones and those in the process of transitioning.
Another family with a trans child was preparing for worst-case scenarios. “I’m such a planner,” Janet Murphy, the mother of thirteen-year-old Ruby said. “So I’m, like, O.K., I’ve got to make sure that we have cashh. Where are we going to go? What’s our first stop, second stop, if someone’s going to come and try to take my child?” This is a real fear.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/texas-trans-kids-abortion-lgbtq-gender-ideology/
