The conservative demonization of trans people in America has been steadily increasing in pace and tenor over the last half-decade. During the last year in particular, conservatives have shifted their focus to trans minors, further alienating a group already primed for feelings of isolation and exclusion.
The party of “family values” now wants to see otherwise loving families destroyed in a warped attempt to “save” them.
Now, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have decided that providing these children with medical care constitutes “child abuse.” As a result, teachers, doctors and other adults to whom trans teens turn for support will have to worry about potential legal troubles for not reporting those kids and their parents to protective services. It’s a horrifying escalation that will not improve the lives of these children — but it will likely politically benefit the Republicans craven enough to build their electoral futures on a foundation of bigotry and intolerance towards some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.
The first domino fell Monday when Paxton released a nonbinding legal opinion in response to a query from a Texas state House member, Matt Krause, the same lawmaker engaged in a book-banning crusade against LGBTQ material. In a novel and disturbing interpretation of Texas law, Paxton expressed the opinion that puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries for minors all had to be halted immediately. If such an interpretation were to stand, it would effectively do what the Legislature couldn’t when it failed to pass a bill last year that would have made providing gender-affirming care to minors a felony.
Abbott responded to Paxton’s opinion Tuesday by ordering the head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas.” Crucially, Abbott’s letter to DFPS emphasized that “licensed professionals who have direct contact with children” could face “criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse” and that parents of kids “subjected to these abusive gender-transitioning procedures” should also be investigated.
It’s not clear what, if any, immediate effects Abbott’s and Paxton’s decisions will have. Several county prosecutors quickly told The Dallas Morning News that they wouldn’t prosecute any cases based on Paxton’s opinion. Likewise, a spokesperson for DFPS told the newspaper that “the agency will investigate alleged abuse but is not expected to change its current policies in response to Paxton’s opinion. Any reports will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.” As of Wednesday, there were no reports pending for DFPS to investigate, but that doesn’t mean the status quo is still in place.
The constant, looming threat of potential consequences becomes the vehicle to further oppress marginalized people.
These anti-trans policies are akin to Texas’ recent anti-abortion law, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and anti-critical race theory laws across the country. In all these cases, the trigger for retribution is vague and the targets ill-defined. This is no accident. The lack of definition leaves the law an empty vessel to be filled by the imagination of whoever is applying it. In practice, the constant, looming threat of potential consequences becomes the vehicle to further oppress marginalized people, instill shame in the minority group of choice, justify their ostracism from the broader community and force those affected into hiding.
There may be anti-trans activists who truly believe that with their campaigns they’re helping (and not hurting) children. That is most assuredly not the case for Abbott and Paxton, who, just to fend off attacks from the right, are despicable enough to accuse the parents of trans children of not loving them enough to force them to live a soul-crushing lie. Both are running in primaries and trying to burnish their conservative credentials by codifying hatred. Vilifying trans children for votes is a strategy we’re seeing across the country. Last year, a record number of anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures. We can expect even more as Republicans try to stir up their base ahead of the midterms. Case in point: Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., released an 11-point GOP agenda on Tuesday that insists “there are two genders, and to deny that is to deny science.” If enacted, it would effectively nationalize Abbott and Paxton’s view of trans minors and erase trans people from public life. The party of “family values” now wants to see otherwise loving families destroyed in a warped attempt to “save” them. The attorney general’s opinion is likely to be challenged in court, but it could become entrenched if such a lawsuit is heard by a likeminded judge who is equally willing to disregard the needs of trans youths. There is the chance, though, that a federal judge could block this attempt to deny trans children medical care, as a federal judge in Arkansas did after lawmakers there banned gender-affirming care for minors. But until that happens, if it happens at all, there are likely teachers and nurses and doctors who agree with Abbott and Paxton and will gladly use the governor’s order as an excuse to turn the power of the state against children they dislike. As long as this is the state of play in Texas, parents of trans children will wake up every day wondering if it’s the day that investigators turn up at their door. Worse still will be their child’s fear that this is the day that both their hormone replacement therapy and their family will be stripped from them.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on politics and policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House. 
