Goings On Down In Texas

The trans community down in Texas is still in turmoil but the courts are starting to speak… and it is in our favor.

Texas court reinstates injunction blocking probes of transgender kids' parents
Reuters
By Maria Caspani
March 21, 2022


A Texas appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a temporary injunction prohibiting the state from investigating parents who provide their transgender children certain medical care that Governor Greg Abbott has branded "child abuse."

The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruling came in a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lamda Legal filed on behalf of a 16-year-old transgender girl, her parents and her licensed therapist challenging a directive issued by Abbott last month.

The latest decision affirmed the rulings of a lower-court judge, who first blocked any further investigation of the family and their psychologist, then issued a broader injunction on March 11 barring enforcement of Abbott's directive statewide while the case remained under judicial review.

The judge, Amy Clark Meachum, ruled that plaintiffs in the case faced "deprivation of their constitutional rights, the potential loss of necessary medical care and the stigma attached to being the subject of an unfounded child abuse investigation."

Some sanity has returned down in Texas, at least for a little while.

KXAN writes about the court case…

Meachum originally blocked the investigations in a March 11 order. However, that was temporarily lifted after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the decision.

[…]

The Monday ruling reinstating the temporary injunction is not on the merits of the case, but rather whether the investigations should be put on hold while the legality is determined in the courts.

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In another court case a doctor is suing the hospital that ended trans care.

Doctor who treats transgender children takes UT Southwestern to court over change in care
Dr. Ximena Lopez headed the Genecis program at UT Southwestern and Children’s Health. The hospitals abruptly cut certain medical care for new transgender patients last year.
The Dallas Morning News
By Lauren McGaughy and Marin Wolf
March 16, 2022<


The doctor who led UT Southwestern’s program for transgender youth is taking her employer to court to find out why the hospital abruptly cut care for new patients last year.

In a petition filed in Dallas County court on Wednesday, Dr. Ximena Lopez said UT Southwestern’s decision to halt certain gender-affirming health care provided by the Genecis program violates the university’s nondiscrimination policy and keeps her from treating patients according to her independent medical judgment.

Genecis, a seven-year-old program run by UT Southwestern and Children’s Health, was unique in Texas and the only program created specifically to provide gender-affirming care to minors in the region. The hospitals quietly cut off certain treatments to new patients in November.

“That edict is patently prohibited discrimination. It is illegal,” the petition reads. “It potentially exposes Dr. Lopez to legal liability. The only question is: who is dictating this illegal policy and why?”

The court filing, known as a 202 petition, allows attorneys and their clients to investigate claims before filing a lawsuit. It marks the first time one of the program’s leaders has pushed back in such a public way against the university’s decision to close Genecis to new patients.

According to Lopez, the governor office put pressure on the hospital.

In her petition, Lopez said UT Southwestern told her “either the governor or the governor’s office has exerted political pressure on [UT Southwestern] to close the Genecis clinic and to stop clinicians from providing gender-affirming care.”

Don’t forget that President Biden and Health and Human Services have said that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Section 1557 requires healthcare for us, HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights, and Patient Privacy what it means for us is that Texas could lose billions in healthcare dollars from the federal government.

Trans children in Texas even with these legal victories are still under great pressure from the governor and attorney general.