| Houston, Texas (February 22, 2022)— Yesterday Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a formal Attorney General Opinion concluding that parents who allow their transgender children certain gender-affirming health care—including puberty suppressants—may be guilty of “child abuse” under the Texas Family Code. Today Governor Abbott stated the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (“DFPS”) “will enforce” General Paxton’s opinion and “investigate & refer for prosecution any such abuse.” Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee—whose office represents DFPS in civil child abuse cases in Harris County—issued the following statement in response: “Governor Abbott and General Paxton are ignoring medical professionals and intentionally misrepresenting the law to the detriment of transgender children and their families. My office will not participate in these bad faith political games. As the lawyers handling these cases, we owe a duty of candor to the courts about what the law really says. We’ll continue to follow the laws on the books—not General Paxton’s politically motivated and legally incorrect ‘opinion.’” |