{"id":1333021,"date":"2022-02-23T14:53:20","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T19:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1333021"},"modified":"2022-02-23T14:53:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T19:53:25","slug":"texas-gov-abbott-directs-state-to-investigate-child-transgender-procedures-it-constitutes-child-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-gov-abbott-directs-state-to-investigate-child-transgender-procedures-it-constitutes-child-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Gov. Abbott Directs State to Investigate Child Transgender Procedures: It Constitutes &#039;Child Abuse&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-gov-abbott-directs-state-to-investigate-child-transgender-procedures-it-constitutes-child-abuse%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1333021&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Greg-Abbott-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday directed the state to investigate transgender procedures on children, citing the\u00a0Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which has confirmed that \u201ca number of so-called \u2018sex change\u2019 procedures constitute child abuse under existing Texas law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a letter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/21272649-abbott-letter-to-masters\">addressed<\/a> to\u00a0Jaime Masters, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Abbott affirmed that the OAG determined that many of the so-called sex-change procedures done on children \u201cconstitute child abuse,\u201d thereby directing the agency to \u201cconduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Citing the OAG Opinion, Abbott said it is clear that it is against the law to \u201csubject Texas children to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning, including reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen.\u201d Under Texas law, Abbott continued, all licensed professionals \u201cwho have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers,\u201d could face \u201ccriminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere are similar reporting requirements and criminal penalties for members of the general public,\u201d Abbott continued, informing DFPS that it also has a duty to \u201cinvestigate the parents of a child who is subjected to these abusive gender-transitioning procedures, and on other state agencies to investigate licensed facilities where such procedures may occur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several agencies are cc\u2019d on the letter, including the Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing, Texas State Board of Pharmacy, Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, Texas Education Association, Texas State Board of Educator Certification, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Greg Abbot has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers.<\/p>\n<p>He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AO4FdYNuym\">pic.twitter.com\/AO4FdYNuym<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Erin, Trail Mom (@ErinInTheMorn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ErinInTheMorn\/status\/1496511215719399431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Abbott\u2019s letter followed Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/21271867-kp-0401\">opinion<\/a> indicating that some of these procedures on children do, in fact, constitute child abuse:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sex-change operations and puberty blockers prescribed to kids is \u201cchild abuse\u201d under Texas law.<\/p>\n<p>These procedures are monstrous and tragic. \u201cI\u2019ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AOoO5NNmyC\">https:\/\/t.co\/AOoO5NNmyC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KenPaxtonTX\/status\/1495873633440485381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cThe Texas Family Code is clear\u2014causing or permitting substantial harm to the child, or the child\u2019s growth and development is child abuse,\u201d the opinion reads in part. \u201cCourts have held that an unnecessary surgical procedure that removes a healthy body part from a child can constitute a real and significant injury or damage to the child.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>As <em>The Dallas Morning News<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/news\/politics\/2022\/02\/21\/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-health-care-for-transgender-children-is-abuse\/\">reported<\/a>, \u201cAttorney general opinions do not have the force of law, but former officials said agency heads are mostly expected to follow them.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Kate Murphy, senior policy associate for child protection at Texans Care for Children, told the outlet that it is \u201cunclear\u201d what will occur next, as it is a \u201cnonbinding opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cRight now, we have more questions than answers,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday directed the state to investigate transgender procedures on children, citing the\u00a0Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which has confirmed that \u201ca number of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1333021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1333021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1333021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1333021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1333021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}