AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — Ruling in favor of six families of transgender kids, a Texas judge on Friday granted a temporary injunction blocking the state from enforcing its ban on minors from receiving gender-affirming care.
The judge's ruling made for but a brief victory for transgender rights advocates. Shortly after the ruling was released, the Texas attorney general’s office filed an accelerated appeal to the state supreme court, effectively staying the injunction and paving the way for a fight at the Texas Supreme Court.
The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the Transgender Law Center, on behalf of the families, physicians who provide gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ rights organizations, against the State of Texas.
U.S. District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel wrote in her seven-page opinion that the law, which was set to take effect on Sept. 1, would have caused the plaintiffs — who are transgender minors and their parents, physicians, and LGBTQ+ rights organizations — irreparable harm.
Senate Bill 14 was passed earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature. Lawmakers argued the law is needed to protect children from making potentially life-altering decisions from a young age. However, transgender people and members of the medical community have opposed the law, believing that it will prevent minors with gender dysphoria from happily living as who they are.
Touching on the merits of the case, Hexsel, who was elected as a Democrat, found that the law likely violates the Texas Constitution by infringing on parent's rights to make decisions affecting their children.
“This fundamental right includes the right of parents to give, withhold and withdraw consent to medical treatment for their child,” wrote Hexsel. “The act’s prohibition on providing evidence-based treatment for adolescents with gender dysphoria stands directly at odds with parents’ fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care of their children.”
Moreover, the judge found that the law likely violates physicians' rights to occupational freedom under the state constitution. The law would require physicians to ignore clinical guidance as well as their training and oaths as medical professionals to avoid losing their medical license.
Hexsel also held that the law likely constitutes sex discrimination against transgender youth. The law would still permit cisgender minors to receive puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries to treat conditions unrelated to gender dysphoria. Because of this, the judge found that the law only served to prevent access to treatment for a specific group of people without serving a greater state interest.
“The act was passed because of, and not in spite of, its impact on transgender adolescents, depriving them of necessary, safe and effective medical treatments,” wrote Hexsel.
Gender-affirming care practices have been used by physicians for decades to treat minors with gender dysphoria, precocious puberty and those with hormone-related issues. Such practices include hormone replacement therapies, hormone blockers and, in some cases, surgeries.
Groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Texas Pediatric Society, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association have endorsed gender-affirming care practices and called measures seeking to restrict access as harmful to transgender youth.
In a statement, Brian Klosterboer, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, called the judge’s ruling a critical victory for transgender youth and their families.
“As Texans, we believe that each one of us should have the freedom to be ourselves and have access to best-practice medical care that we need for ourselves and our children without facing cruel discrimination or bullying designed as policy,” said Klosterboer. “Trans Texans shouldn’t have to go to court to defend their basic rights, and we will keep advocating for our clients every step of the way.”
In a press release, the attorney general’s office said that it will continue to fight to enforce laws protecting minors from what it called “unproven medical interventions.”
Gender-affirming care has become a standout culture war issue for conservatives across the country. Last spring, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive calling on the state’s child welfare agency to investigate the parents of transgender children for child abuse. The Republican governor has also given final approval to laws prohibiting transgender athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. That law, along with the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors are both set to take effect on Sept. 1.
As the Texas judge was releasing her ruling on Friday, a judge in Missouri ruled to allow a similar ban to take effect starting Monday. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Steven Ohmer found the arguments made by the ACLU, Lambda Legal and a St. Louis law firm in that case were “unpersuasive.”
A survey conducted by The Trevor Project, an organization that focuses on preventing suicide among people who identify as LGBTQ+, found that 41% of young people reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. Young people who identify as transgender or non-binary were at a higher risk for suicide, according to the survey.
The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court has, in a past case, sided with Governor Abbott, approving his directive to investigate the parents of transgender children. If the court decides to take up the current case against the state, it will be the first time the court considers a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
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