The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday the state could resume investigating parents on the grounds of "child abuse," if they're seeking gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The state's high-court decision reverses a Texas appeals court ruling from March, temporarily blocking the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from conducting parental investigations.
Friday's decision also comes with a caveat: The state Supreme Court will keep the injunction in place for the family that filed the original lawsuit against the state.
That lawsuit — filed in March by the parents of a transgender child and a doctor who reportedly treats young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria — followed a directive from Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who ordered state agencies to conduct a "prompt and thorough" investigation into gender-affirming procedures for transgender youths.
On Friday, the state's high court agreed with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, determining a "court of appeals lacked any authority ... to afford relief to nonparties throughout the state."
The ruling does not specify whether "child abuse" investigations into the families of trans youths violate American rights to privacy. That notion remains in the courts.
Citing a previous Axios report, the American Psychological Association and American Medical Association condemned any restrictions on gender-affirming medical care or procedures with transgender youths, claiming it could have a detrimental affect on a minor's mental health.
Conversely, last month, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) came out against endorsing interventions, such as surgery, that would be performed on individuals until they've reached the "legal age of majority" in their respective country.
Friday's state Supreme Court decision comes on the heels of a Texas judge ruling Thursday that gender reassignment surgery and other transgender procedures can temporarily continue at Children's Medical Center in Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The two-week injunction granted to Genecis Clinic head Ximena Lopez, a pediatric endocrinologist at UT Southwestern and co-chair of the Transgender Health Special Interest Group of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, follows nearly 50 pieces of Texas legislation proposals calling for limits to trans-youth procedures statewide.
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