Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Glimmers of Hope in Texas

Last week a Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager and rejected Attorney General, and noted transphobe, Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed.

The ruling will allow a lower court to hear from the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] and Lambda Legal asking to stop the state from launching child abuse investigations against parents who have obtained gender-affirming care for their transgender children.

Paxton’s office did not respond or comment but in a legal opinion issued last month, Paxton equated gender-affirming care with child abuse, after which his partner in bigotry, Governor Greg Abbott, directed Texas Child Protective Services to open investigations into families that provide such care to their children.

This means that in Texas, it is child abuse for the parents of a trans child to even allow … allow … their child to express their gender how they’d like; now, some trans children also take puberty blockers, which is a completely reversible medical treatment prescribed for a many other things beyond transitioning, but Paxton and Abbott dealt the Fear Card by suggesting that parents are also taking their children in for gender reassignment surgeries.

Those types of medical treatments are rarely, if ever, used on children.

But think about that … think about a parent not being allowed to raise and care for  their child as they choose, to help their child adjust to life as the child needs to adjust; perhaps Texas will start arresting parents who provide birth control to their children—and let’s be clear, it’s only for the daughters cuz boys will be boys—and if your daughter finds herself pregnant, forget about an abortion, too.

Texas wants nothing to do with providing healthcare for its citizens but it sure likes to stick its nose into a family’s private healthcare decisions.

And now big business is sticking its nose into Texas. Last week more than 60 companies, including Apple, Google, Meta, Johnson & Johnson, Ikea, PayPal, Capital One, Electronic Arts and many others, called on Governor Abbott to abandon that executive order  in an ad that ran in last Friday’s edition of the Dallas Morning News:

"The recent attempt to criminalize a parent for helping their transgender child access medically necessary, age-appropriate healthcare in the state of Texas goes against the values of our companies. … We call on public leaders—in Texas and across the country—to abandon efforts to write discrimination into law and policy … It's not just wrong, it has an impact on our employees, our customers, their families, and our work."

And to be clear, while it’s disgusting to charge a parent with child abuse for simply offering healthcare and gender-affirming care for their child, the bill also would charge doctors, nurses, teachers and other citizens who come in contact with a child receiving that care to report the parents or face "criminal penalties."

Texas is all about turning its citizens on one another for profit, though that might just cost the state over a billion dollars in federal funding over Abbott and Paxton’s desire to punish trans children and their parents.

Last week Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton amended an existing lawsuit against the Biden administration in an attempt to void guidance issued by the US Health and Human Services that said restricting someone’s ability to receive medical care solely on the basis of their sex assigned at birth or gender identity is a violation of the Affordable Care Act for federally funded entities.

Oops. Texas might get hit in the pocketbook.

The federal guidance states that health care providers do not need to disclose private patient information regarding gender-affirming care and that it is illegal to deny health care based on gender identity.

Paxton says Texas does not aim to deny healthcare based on gender identity but they will arrest and charge parents for child abuse if they provide healthcare based on gender identity.

Haste costs. Bigotry ain’t cheap.

13 comments:

  1. Ugh. Texas.
    The train of hate coming from the South is really something, no? I read there are more than ten (!!) bills climbing in various legislations with the same intent as this one.
    And it's so sweet that they may hit them in the pocketbook! Yeah. Where it hurts. Sue the MoFos.

    XOXO

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  2. The fact that there NEEDS to be a "glimmer of hope" for Texas or anywhere in this United States is truly pathetic. The US should be a LEADER in civil rights, the rights of women, the rights of all racial groups, the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens, the rights of immigrants and all human rights. I am sometimes so disgusted with our "law" makers and embarrassed to be in any way represented by these backward thinking, phoney-religious politicians. As they say: "Don't get me started." Which you've already done!

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  3. It’s not like Texas has any other problems that could be fixed with all the money they’ll spend on litigation to defend bigotry. Who needs electricity or heat in the middle of winter anyway?

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  4. The whole situation is disgusting. And of course they're playing the fear card, gender reassignment surgery for children, whether or not it's actually happening. It's like "partial birth abortion," an incredibly rare procedure that Repubs and evangelicals pretend is commonplace in order to horrify everyone.

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  5. Abbott = Texas = the new USSR = Putrid

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  6. The attack on trans kids and their parents is to satisfy a base desperately craving power. They own so much hatred.

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  7. I hope this hateful law gets defeated, as it should be.

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  8. One small step...but at least it's still a win for the trans community.

    Helen is right. Maybe we should rename Texas Little Russia?

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  9. Move. Move out of Texas. F Texas. Why anybody chooses to live in these loser states is beyond me. We can work from anywhere. There are tons of jobs everywhere. Move. Get out of the way of hate and let it eat itself. We all need to buy electric cars and destroy Texas' stupid earth destroying economy. Hit the arrogant, greedy bastards where they live... the oil fields.

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  10. I'm in Texas too and I don't know how far those two will go to ban everything that is a personal choice.

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  11. And in another ridiculous move, last year a Republican state lawmaker Rep. Bryan Slaton introduced the the abortion Bill that would have seen women and physicians charged with Homicide - punishable by death.
    TX Republicans know no bounds. As you indicate, they will keep going until all they have left is to eat their own.

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  12. @Six
    I need these businesses toi simply stop giving money to these asshats and, if possible, move their businesses elsewhere.


    @Frank
    Wouldn’t it be nice if the US led the way??? Wouldn’t it be great if all Americans were equal!!


    @brewella
    That’s one thing that pisses me off. Your state is in shambles but this is the sword you want to die on??
    Hey Texas? Cast a GODDMANED BLUE vote!


    @Steve
    If feels like the GOP runs on fear and hate and lies.


    @Helen
    A small jump from one to the next!


    @Dave
    Well, the GOP has nothing to offer … think healthcare and immigration and climate change, all things they ignore, while they focus on trans kids.

    @Debra
    I’ve a feeling it will, but I also hope no trans child is hurt before it does get quashed.


    @Maddie
    If people do and say nothing, more states with try to pass these loss.
    I prefer to call Texas Fuckistan.

    @upton
    I wish people would leave Texas, and, if they can’t, vote that hate-filled GOP from office.

    @Barbara
    So sorry that you live there, though, yeah, I live in South Carolina so ….

    @whkattk
    Plus, in Texas they want their citizens policing other citizens.
    It’s disgusting.

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  13. Good luck for all the good
    parents in Texas! Hang in there!
    xoxo :-)

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