Texas judge halts Abbott's transgender investigation order

[FM123]

(Politico) A Texas judge on Friday ordered a statewide halt to a directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that called for abuse investigations into the use of gender-affirming care for transgender children, handing a major victory to civil rights organizations that sued to block the order this month.

The decision from Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum arrived the week after the advocacy groups joined the family of a transgender girl to sue Abbott and the state’s child protection agency after the governor’s orders prompted scorn from medical groups, local prosecutors and the White House.

After an hours-long hearing, Meachum granted a temporary restraining order to stop any state abuse investigations and potential prosecutions based solely on child abuse allegations related to the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender children — until courts fully resolve the legal issues at stake.

Meachum scheduled a trial to occur in July.

Read More: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/11/texas-judge-abbott-transgender-investigation-order-00016802

[Ohio Joe]

1. Good - nt

[a kennedy]

2. and how long will that hold up.....to the Supreme Court of US???

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Judge temporarily blocks Texas investigations into families of trans kids

Link to tweet

State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled Friday that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services cannot continue to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their transgender children for child abuse. The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.

Meachum said there is a "substantial likelihood that" lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal will prevail in getting this directive permanently overturned, calling Abbott's actions "beyond the scope of his duty and unconstitutional."....

Lawyers for the ACLU and Lambda argued in court Friday that Meachum should grant a statewide injunction on all of these investigations until the legitimacy of this directive can be argued in trial.

“The defendant’s directives and actions are traumatizing,” said ACLU of Texas attorney Brian Klosterboer. He added that the actions are “killing the ability of transgender youth to continue to get necessary care, and forcing physicians and mandatory reporters … to decide between civil and criminal penalties … and doing what’s right for the health of their patients.”

[FM123]

7. Thank you!

[Initech]

4. See? This is exactly what I mean when I say elections matter!

And every election - doesn't matter if it's a city council, school board, county sheriff, state rep, local rep, governor, senator, I could go on and on. Politics starts at the local level.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

10. Something Jello Biafra has preached for decades...

That the masses get fired up to vote on the president every 4 years, and maybe care about voting for the Senate and House.. Maybe, just maybe, care to show up and vote for governor... But the rest? Ehhh, not important enough.

These monsters aren't created in a political vacuum (well, except Drumpf). They start somewhere, and climb on up the ladder to where they can inflict real damage.

So, yes, everyone. Get out to vote - even if it's city council, or the school board, or state reps, or whatever. Stop these assholes before they can take step 1 on the ladder to becoming Governor Abbott or Rep. Traitor Greene or the next President Drumpf.

[Initech]

11. Exactly!

My town has a crazy MAGA woman who has never worked a day in education in her life on the school board that we unfortunately cannot get rid of. MAGA crazy woman even went to the insurrection and bragged about it on Facebook. And this woman is also the exact type of vile and abusive POS that the MAGA world attracts. And when we say that we hate her, she comes back with BS like "Oh they're just attacking me because I'm a straight, white Christian mother - everything the liberals hate!". Ugh, that shit is so infuriating.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

12. I feel your pain...

Our sheriff is a card-carrying member of the Oaf Keepers. Though, I can't decide if that is a case of it slipped through the cracks because no one cared to get out and vote, or, they want an Oaf Keeper as sheriff. We do have far too many MAGA types around here.

What scares me about the MAGA board member you have to deal with is this is just one step on the ladder for her... From school board to city council to mayor to.. The House? And, again, made possible by people who aren't paying attention and not voting at all levels letting her take step #1.

I swear, though... There is either an instruction manual for people like her, or, they're like the Borg.. All saying that same kind of shit. "They're attack me/canceling me/hate me because I'm straight, Christian, etc..." Same empty and stupid words out of so many of them.

..Though, of course, we don't hate them because they're white or Christian or straight... We hate them because they get into office so they can abuse people who aren't white or aren't Christian or aren't straight. They love playing victim - while harming us.

[Initech]

13. Yeah I wonder if there's an instruction manual or something.

It's like if someone is an abusive jerk, you can almost instantly tell which side of the fence they fall on. I personally blame Rush Limbaugh for enabling the liars and abusive jerks of the world.

And yeah that's the exact reason why I hate them. It's not because they're straight or white - it's because they're horrible and abusive while at the same time never taking personal responsibility for any of their actions.

[Duncan Grant]

5. You know you're a monstrous asshole when you target kids and their families.

For the life of me, I don’t understand why conservatives are so rabid about trans kids, their parents and non conservatives, in general. They’re taking pleasure in doing so! Absolute evil, imho.

I’m offended that they indoctrinate their kids into the invisible-man-in-the sky-Bronze Age-goat-herder nonsense, instead of reality — but I keep it to myself. And I’d never try to legislate *their* “lifestyle”.

This abuse of trans kids and their parents is a human rights violation. An outrage.

[Marius25]

6. Unfortunately it will go to the Texas Supreme Court

which are rabid fascists and always side with Abbot.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Analysis: Texas officials bully transgender kids for political points

Paxton and Abbott are attacking and threatening trans children for political points

Link to tweet

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/11/texas-transgender-politics/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton are turning the law-and-order Republican Party into a gang of bullies, targeting transgender kids — and the parents who support them — with their decision to treat gender-affirming health care as child abuse.

That health care is legal under Texas law, but this is election season. Cynics who think politicians will say anything to get reelected have a new, sparkling piece of evidence......

But most of those aren’t sexy election issues. Paxton is in a runoff. Abbott faces a well-known, well-financed Democrat in November. And as The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek has reported, they think they’ve got a hot item to entice Republican voters.

“This is a winning issue,” Abbott’s top political strategist, Dave Carney, told reporters last week. “Texans have common sense.”....

“How is that considered child abuse to accept them and love them?” one mother told them. “How can they overstep their power and try to come and tell me how I should love my child?”

[Initech]

14. Texas is run by a bunch of psychopaths.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

9. Good...

But it's but one step, and one round in a battle that we know is not over. There will be another round, soon no doubt.. And even if these thugs lose on this one, they'll find a new way to inflict people and cruelty about "the others".. This is what these demons live for.

Take a breather, ACLU and Lambda.. But a short one. We know Abbott and Paxton aren't done. And the same kind of shit is now going down in Georgia, and Idaho is trying to outdo them all. Welcome to the modern day QOP, where the only point of getting elected is to bully and terrorize people you don't like.

I could see Abbott defying the order... If so, what? I hope to hell he finds himself treated like anyone else who defies a court order. It'd serve his ass right.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Texas Children's Hospital Ceases Child Gender Transition Treatments After DFPS Directive

This is horrible. Texas Children is one of the better hospitals in the country for these issues

Link to tweet

https://thetexan.news/texas-childrens-hospital-ceases-child-gender-transition-treatments-after-dfps-directive/?utm_content=buffer838cf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Texas Children’s Hospital, a medical center in Houston, announced on Friday that it would stop administering drugs meant to aid sex transitions for children.
According to the hospital’s statement, leadership made the decision to stop the endocrine treatments because of the state’s recent choice to officially treat gender modification as child abuse.

“The mission of Texas Children’s Hospital is to create a healthier future for all children, including transgender children, within the bounds of the law. After assessing the Attorney General’s and Governor’s actions, Texas Children’s Hospital paused hormone-related prescription therapies for gender-affirming services,” the hospital stated.

“This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications.”

On February 21, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an official opinion arguing that gender transition procedures constitute child abuse under existing Texas law. Specifically, Paxton observed that courts have long recognized a fundamental liberty interest in procreation, a right endangered by the endocrine and surgical treatments used to aid sex transitions before adulthood.