Thanks for standing up Governor Greg Abbott of Texas! We should at all times protect our children from any of these child abuses.
Recently, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered his state’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of ‘gender-transitioning procedures’ among the Lone Star State’s children as potential child abuse.
On February 22, Abbott send a letter addressed to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), he enacted the agency to consider some of these procedures as examples of child abuse. These surgeries include sterilization or mastectomies, as well as the administration of certain doses of testosterone or estrogen.
He also ordered that all licensed professionals, including teachers and nurses, must report any suspected gender transitioning in children to the authorities.
Abbott wrote in a Feb. 22 memo to agency Commissioner Jaime Masters:
“Consistent with our correspondence in August 2021, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has now confirmed in the enclosed opinion that a number of so-called ‘sex change’ procedures constitute child abuse under existing Texas law. Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for protecting children from abuse, I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas.”
The law is clear, Abbott insisted, Texas children should not be used for or subject to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning, including reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen.
“Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse,” Abbott continued.
The letter was also sent to the Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Medical Board, and Texas Education Agency. It came one day after Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion saying that transgender treatments on children constitute child abuse.
Several liberal district attorneys have said they will not enforce the law. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said in a statement released on Tuesday:
“My office will not participate in these bad faith political games. As the lawyers handling these cases, we owe a duty of candor to the courts about what the law really says. We’ll continue to follow the laws on the books — not General Paxton’s politically motivated and legally incorrect ‘opinion.’”
The Dallas Morning News reported:
The Travis District and County Attorneys echoed Menefee sentiments.
“The Republican leadership of this state is trying to turn loving and supportive parents into criminals, and this office will play no part in it,” County Attorney Delia Garza told The News.
The office of District Attorney Jose Garza confirmed they will likewise decline to prosecute any cases based on Paxton’s guidance.
Dallas officials have not yet commented.
Texas Attorney General Paxton has recently announced an investigation into two pharmaceutical companies that allegedly promote the use of hormone-blocking drugs for children. The drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose.
Paxton’s office is looking into whether or not Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and AbbVie Inc. violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting using the medications Supprelin LA and Lupron Depot for kids whose parents allege that they are transgender.
According to a press release from the Attorney General:
“Supprelin LA and Lupron Depot are approved to treat children with Central Precocious Puberty (CPP), when the puberty process begins prematurely. And Vantas, along with other forms of Lupron, has been prescribed for palliative treatment of prostate cancer. These drugs are now being used to treat gender dysphoria even though they are not approved for such use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gender dysphoria is a diagnosed mental disorder in which a person experiences significant distress related to a strong desire to be of another biological sex.”
“The manufacture, sale, prescription, and use of puberty blockers on young teens and minors is dangerous and reckless,” Attorney General Paxton said in the statement. “These drugs were approved for very different purposes and can have detrimental and even irreversible side effects. I will not allow pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of Texas children.”
Abbott’s Republican allies in the Texas legislature praised his move, Republican state Rep. Matt Schaefer said in a statement:
‘This (Paxton) opinion means nothing if it’s not enforced.’
‘The truth is, though, that we need a special session immediately to address this now that we have the backing of the attorney general’s office. We are not going to back down on this — this is a hill we are ready to die on,’ he added.
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, Dallas Morning News