Texas officials are investigating parents of transgender adolescents for possible child abuse after Gov. Greg Abbott directed them last week to handle certain medical treatments as possible crimes. The investigations by the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services were started in response to an order from Abbott to the agency, alleges a new lawsuit, reports the New York Times. State Attorney General Ken Paxton said parents who provide their transgender teenagers with puberty-suppressing drugs or other medically accepted treatments could be investigated for child abuse.
Among the first investigated was an employee of the state protective services agency who has a 16-year-old transgender child. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Lambda Legal asked a state court to try to stop the inquiry. The employee works on the review of reports of abuse and neglect. She was placed on administrative leave last week. On Friday, she was visited by an investigator from the agency, which is also seeking medical records related to her child. The family of the child has refused to voluntarily turn over the records. “We are terrified for Mary’s health and well-being, and for our family,” wrote the employee in a declaration filed with the suit. “I feel betrayed by my state and the agency for whom I work.”