5 Texas DAs defy Gov. Greg Abbott, won't treat gender affirming care for trans youth as 'child abuse'
District attorneys
representing five of Texas' largest counties on Wednesday said they will not treat gender-affirming procedures for transgender youth as "child abuse," defying a push by the state's attorney general and governor to target the medical treatments.
The news comes a day after an
order from Gov. Greg Abbott mandated the state's child welfare agency treat gender-affirming procedures as "child abuse," a move with potential legal consequences for both parents of transgender youth and any teacher or other authority figure who interacts with a trans child.
The district attorneys said they believe Gov. Abbott's order — and the legal opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton on which the order is based — cons ute "an egregious invasion of privacy."
"We will enforce the Cons ution and will not irrationally and unjustifiably interfere with medical decisions made between children, their parents, and their medical physicians," said district attorneys representing more than 5 million people, including those in the cities of Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Sugar Land and Corpus Christi.