The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that government officials can continue to investigate parents who transition their children to the opposite sex for potential child abuse.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services determined that child sex change surgeries constituted child abuse in August of 2021 upon prompting by Gov. Greg Abbott, and began investigations of families for potential child abuse over treatments their transgender children were receiving in February, the Daily Caller reports.
An appeals court had previously blocked these inquiries throughout the state, but the Texas Supreme Court ruled the lower court “abused its discretion.”
The Friday ruling determined that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services investigations against the family and doctor who had brought the lawsuit could not continue and said the investigation could cause “irreparable harm.”
The court ruled Abbott and Paxton lacked statutory authority to have ordered these investigations, but that other investigations could move forward.
