The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered child-welfare workers to investigate the parents of trans children seeking gender-affirming medical procedures as potential “child abuse.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a family, alleges that a Jane Doe who works in child services was put on leave from her job on Feb. 23 after questioning the new directive. The day after she was placed on leave, the family was met by a child protective services investigator who said that “the sole allegation against Jane Doe and John Doe is that they have a transgender daughter and that their daughter may have been provided with medically necessary gender-affirming health care and is ‘currently transitioning from male to female,’” according to TheNew Republic. “No family should have to fear being torn apart because they are supporting their trans child,” ACLU policy strategist Adri Pérez said in a statement. “A week before an election, Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a partisan political attack that isn’t rooted in the needs of families, the evidence from doctors and the expertise from child welfare professionals.”
