Texas judge blocks child abuse investigations into families of transgender kids

A Texas judge on Friday expanded her order in an ongoing lawsuit, giving families of transgender youth more protections against state child abuse investigations. 

Judge Amy Clark Meachum's order is the latest in a lawsuit by LGBTQ advocates against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state's child welfare agency to halt current and future child-abuse probes for children who have received gender- affirming medical care.

Friday's order "lengthens and strengthens" the judge's prior temporary restraining orders that blocked child abuse investigations for a fixed number of days, Stephen Sheppard, former dean of St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, told USA TODAY.

What does the judge's latest order say?

The latest injunction from Meachum also shields Adam Briggle and Amber Briggle, who have a 14-year-old transgender son and two other families who are part of the lawsuit. 

Meachum wrote that Texas' child welfare agency acted contrary to the law and went beyond their authority when its commissioner Jaime Masters launched child abuse probes in response to a directive by the governor in February to investigate families providing their kids with gender-affirming care.

The order also noted a trial in the case is set for June 2023. 

"All Plaintiffs state a valid cause of action against Commissioner Masters and DFPS and have a probable right to the declaratory and permanent injunctive relief they seek," Meachum wrote.

Families faced investigations

Meachum wrote that without the injunction, the families would "suffer probable, imminent, and irreparable injury in the interim."

Another family who is plaintiff in a different lawsuit says their son was questioned for nearly an hour by Department of Family and Protective Services officials who came to his school in late August. A fifth Texas child whose parents are under investigation has not received any gender-affirming medical care, but is just “in midst of exploring what a social transition feels like."

PREVIOUSLY:Texas judge blocks child-abuse investigations into 2 families for gender-affirming care

EDUCATION:LGBTQ students share their plans, fears for new school year, amid growing backlash

The Texas Supreme Court in May allowed the state to investigate parents of transgender youth for child abuse while also ruling in favor of one family who was among the first contacted by child welfare officials following a February directive by Abbott. That family is the plaintiff in a separate lawsuit, Doe v. Abbott.

The most recent lawsuit was brought by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the families of three teenage boys — two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old — and all members of PFLAG in Texas.

"Once again a Texas court has stepped in to say what we knew from the beginning: State leaders have no business interfering with life-saving care essential for transgender youth," Adri Perez with the ACLU of Texas said in a statement.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said as of last week it had opened 12 investigations since Abbott's directive was issued. Only four remain open and no youth have been removed from their homes as a result of the investigations, the department said.

A judge in March put Abbott's order on hold after a lawsuit was brought on behalf of a 16-year-old girl whose family said it was under investigation. The Texas Supreme Court in May ruled that the lower court overstepped its authority by blocking all investigations going forward.

The lawsuit that prompted that ruling marked the first report of parents being investigated following Abbott's directive and an earlier non-binding legal opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton arguing certain gender-confirming treatments could be viewed as "child abuse."

Bills that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth have been introduced in the Texas legislature but have failed to become law.

Abbott's directive and the attorney general's opinion go against the nation's largest medical groups, including the American Medical Association, which have opposed Republican-backed restrictions filed in statehouses nationwide.

The latest injunction follows rulings in other states against Republican-led efforts to restrict gender affirming care for children.

A federal appeals court panel last month ruled Arkansas can't enforce its law banning gender affirming care for minors, and the state plans to ask for the full appeals court to review that decision. A federal judge in May blocked a similar law in Alabama.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman.