Texas continues to stick to its reputation as an ultra-conservative state. The state Supreme Court on Friday (May 13) again authorized investigations into the parents of transgender children, overturning a decision of a court which had suspended these prosecutions in March. In 2021, a controversial directive from Republican Governor Greg Abbott equated certain procedures “sex change” concerning minors to ” bad treatments “ criminally reprehensible. Seized by a family, an appeal court had put an end to the application of this directive in March. However, the Supreme Court of Texas considers that the Court of Appeals “abused his discretionary power” by issuing a statewide order, according to its decision consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
An ambivalent decision
On the other hand, the authorities cannot resume the investigation targeting the family who had brought the case to justice, ruled the court, considering that this investigation would cause them a “irreparable harm”. “Today’s decision is a victory for our clients and the rule of law”according to human rights organization ACLU, which hailed in a tweet a “partial” victory. Partial because “it is clear that the application of this decision causes suffering to young people and their families”she added. “These cruel attacks on transgender youth must stop,” also demanded the association.
The starting point of this directive from Governor Abbott had been widely relayed in the United States. The mother of a transgender teenager had been suspended by her employer, Texas Family Services, and had been visited by an inspector who was investigating whether her 16-year-old daughter “wasn’t transitioning from male to female”according to the complaint filed by the family.
The case had taken on a national dimension, to the point that the American president, Joe Biden, had denounced a “cynical and dangerous campaign that targets transgender children and their parents”. The care to be given to transgender minors, just like their participation in sports competitions or the use of the toilets of the sex in which they identify, are the subject of lively debates in the United States where many conservative states have adopted the latter. years of restrictive regulations.