Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday directed the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate reported occurrences of children in the state ''being subjected to abusive gender-transitioning procedures.''
"Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services 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 Republican governor's letter to the agency read.
"To protect Texas children from abuse, DFPS and all other state agencies must follow the law as explained in OAG Opinion No. KP-0401."
The directive follows confirmation by the state attorney general's office that several gender-transitioning procedures are considered child abuse under Texas law.
''It is already against the law to subject Texas children 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,'' Abbott wrote.
In Opinion No. KP-0401, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote that ''when considering questions of child abuse, a court would likely consider the fundamental right to procreation, issues of physical and emotional harm associated with these procedures and treatments, consent laws in Texas and throughout the country, and existing child abuse standards.''
Reacting to the opinion, Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, a group that advocates for and works with LGBTQ families, told the New York Post that he is advising ''all Texans to be really aware of this [trans memo] campaign stunt and politicians who have built their careers on publicity stunts and disinformation of the LGBTQ community.''
According to the Post, both Abbott and Paxton are running for reelection. Abbott faces seven challengers in the Republican primary on March 1, including former Florida Rep. Allen West and former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines, according to The Texas Tribune.
Paxton faces three challengers in the GOP primary: George P. Bush, Rep. Louie Gohmert and Eva Guzman, according to KWTX-TV.
Martinez said the decision to undergo gender transitioning is specific to each child and family and is often made with input from pediatricians. He told the Post that though he believes the AG's opinion is just political theater, he is still concerned for LGBTQ children and their parents.
Texas law imposes reporting requirements on all licensed professionals who work with children, including doctors, nurses and teachers, and ''provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.''
The governor's letter also said the law imposes a duty on DFPS to investigate the parents of children who undergo gender-transitioning procedures, and on other state agencies to investigate licensed facilities where the procedures occur.
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