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Texas Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton has requested the state Supreme Court docket to intervene to permit little one abuse investigations into mother and father of transgender youngsters. His request comes simply days after a Texas appeals court docket reinstated a short lived injunction blocking the state’s little one welfare company from investigating mother and father solely as a result of they supply gender-affirming care to their youngsters.

What’s gender-affirming medical take care of transgender youngsters? Right here’s what it’s essential to know.

The video above is from earlier reporting.

The Texas third Court docket of Appeals issued the order as a part of a lawsuit introduced by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Authorized on behalf of the mother and father of a transgender teenager who had been being investigated by little one welfare staff.

“Having reviewed the document, we conclude that reinstating the momentary injunction is important to take care of the established order and protect the rights of all events,” three appellate justices wrote.

Paxton has requested the state Supreme Court docket to overturn that injunction, claiming in a petition filed Monday that the injunction “prevents the State from fulfilling its responsibility to guard Texas youngsters.”

In a press release, the ACLU of Texas and Lambda Authorized mentioned that whereas Paxton’s petition is “not shocking, it’s disappointing and harmful.”

Final month, Paxton issued a non-binding authorized opinion arguing that some gender-affirming take care of minors could possibly be thought-about little one abuse. 4 days after the opinion printed, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Division of Household and Protecting Providers to research mother and father facilitating gender-affirming care for his or her youngsters.

Whereas most gender-affirming care focuses on “social transition” — permitting a toddler to specific their gender how they’d like — some transgender youngsters take puberty blockers, a very reversible medical therapy that’s prescribed for a variety of conditions past transition. Paxton and Abbott additionally cited issues over gender-affirming surgical procedures which are not often, if ever, used on youngsters.

District Choose Amy Clark Meachum issued the momentary injunction March 11 after the ACLU and Lambda Authorized sued.

The identical evening Meachum’s injunction was issued, Paxton filed an enchantment and claimed he froze the injunction, permitting the state to proceed investigations. Nevertheless, specialists mentioned the enchantment fell into a sophisticated authorized space, and attorneys had challenged such automated stays earlier than, claiming the state shouldn’t be capable of overturn an injunction just by submitting an enchantment.

Till the Texas Supreme Court docket weighs in, the injunction will proceed to dam the continued — and any new — investigations into Texans accused of kid abuse primarily based solely on the allegation that they supplied gender-affirming medical care.

This story comes from our KHOU 11 Information companions at The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media group that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public coverage, politics, authorities, and statewide points.