Following Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s violent attempt to crimimalize lifesaving healthcare for transgender youth by labeling it as “child abuse”, a Texas appeals court reinstated a temprory injuction on Monday, against the appeal to ban gender-affirming care.

The court found that Abbott’s attempt to “investigate” parents and healthcare providers who affirm a trans child’s gender to potentially seperate families and criminalize doctors on the baseless claim of “child abuse”, would cause “irreperable harm.”

The temporary injunction comes in response to a lawsuit by parents who have been investigated by child welfare workers, for supporting their child’s right to access lifesaving gender-affirming healthcare.

In the past month, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have been supporting their claims using a harmful interpretation of state law that systemically medicalizes transness in Texas.

Abbott directed the Department of Family and Protective Services to “investigate” parents on the grounds of “child abuse”, if they affirmed their trans child’s right to access gender-affirming healthcare.

Following this, parents who love and support their trans children, started getting calls from Child Protective Services, with the imposed fear that authorities could show up at their home to split their family apart – criminalizing parents and harming children.

“My mom’s been with me my whole life. I wouldn’t have made it without her,” Kai Shappley, an 11 year-old-trans activist directly affected by this attack said in a video by VICE.

Imagine being told as a child that your commitment to being who you are, is going to be criminalized. That your healthcare will be stripped, and your parents will be investigated for loving you.

How does love become the basis of an evidence that is used to separate families. How can one person claim the authority to impose this fear?

There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the state of terror that Abbott and Paxton are attempting to create.

Watch Kai’s full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTsHmasdsA

Read more stories by trans folks on how gender-affirming care has been lifesaving: https://bit.ly/33K8DK9