OPINION:
When I first took the Oath of Office as Texas attorney general, I pledged to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the laws of our great state. But recently, my efforts to uphold that oath have placed me in the crosshairs of radical transgender activists who want to subject Texas children struggling with gender dysphoria to a host of “sex-change” procedures and various puberty-blockers — before they can even understand the weight of these decisions.
Sadly, Texas has been at the front lines of this battle for quite some time. Many conservatives across the nation will remember the story of Jeffrey Younger and his lawsuit against his estranged wife who forced his son to transition to a girl. This case was deeply troubling, and as attorney general, I had a responsibility to intervene.
As I wrote in a 2019 letter regarding the Younger case, the “transition” of James Younger by means of puberty-blocking prescription drugs is “abuse” under at least three definitions of the term in the Texas Family Code. It was obvious, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had a duty to investigate.
Since then, this dangerous child abuse has tragically become more and more common. But I’m leading concerned parents in fighting back against these horrific practices — and we won’t be deterred.
As attorney general, one of my top priorities is protecting our most vulnerable populations. I’ve fought to protect the unborn, for example, by defending Texas’ heartbeat bill, which has resulted in a 60% drop in abortions. And I remain dedicated to defending Texas children from obvious abuse with the same vigor and resolve.
In Texas, we cherish all of our children, and we must do everything in our power to keep them safe — free from the influence of a radical liberal sexual agenda they are too young to understand fully.
In a recent piece, Walt Heyer, a former transgender person, has brought more public awareness about the people who regret their “gender transition.” This has been crucial to reaching a better understanding of this issue and the tragic consequences people suffered as a result of early transitions.
Mr. Heyer points out that far too often, the mental illness of gender dysphoria “leads to unnecessary hormone therapy and reckless life-altering surgery.” In turn, children are subjected to surgery that removes healthy organs and procedures that cause sterilization, without a full understanding of the root causes of the dysphoria they are encountering — a feeling that is likely only temporary.
Without question, these procedures and treatments can cause physical, mental or emotional injury to a child that can negatively impact “the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning” under Texas law. What’s more, medical evidence does not demonstrate that children and adolescents benefit from engaging in irreversible sterilization procedures.
These horror stories are exactly what I am working tirelessly to prevent because we’re at a critical time in this battle to protect children. More and more Texans are seeing the horrors that flow from the merging of medicine and misguided “trans” ideology. And it’s our children who are paying a price.
This shouldn’t be controversial. We have plenty of laws in our nation to protect our children. We have minimum ages for major health procedures and other choices aimed at preventing children from making life-altering decisions before they can properly judge the implications of such actions. A decision of this magnitude should be no different.
That’s why I recently issued a critical directive from my office making clear that performing certain “sex-change” procedures on children, and prescribing puberty-blockers to them, is in fact “child abuse” under Texas law.
The outcry from the radical left and their media cheerleaders is predictable. As they often do, they’re working in concert to distort our good faith efforts to protect our children from abuse and medical procedures with potentially irreversible consequences. So furious are Democrats at my efforts that even President Biden has criticized and tried to discredit them.
Shortly after I released my opinion, the Biden administration issued new guidance targeting our Texas by threatening to withhold funding from state entities who follow Texas law instead of their liberal “trans” agenda.
That’s why I’ve filed suit against Mr. Biden and his lawless administration, something I’ve done a total of 25 times since he first took office. Texas laws are clear: The federal government does not have the authority to govern the medical profession and set family policies, including what may constitute child abuse in state family law courts.
Mr. Biden, his radical administration and his liberal base are determined to force their sexual political agenda on kids. But I will put their health and welfare first.
I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans. I am hopeful that our battle in Texas will emanate across the nation so that every child is protected from a radical gender ideology that cares more about their progressive dogma than kids’ safety.
• Ken Paxton is the attorney general of Texas.
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