On February 22, Texas governor Greg Abbott shocked the nation by directing the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth as “child abuse.” Targeting the parents and guardians of trans children and their medical providers, the order has already led to DFPS opening investigations into several families, according to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and Lambda Legal.
As the plaintiffs in that suit, clinical psychologist Dr. Megan Mooney, along with the unnamed parents of a 16-year-old trans girl, allege that Governor Abbott’s directive is invalid on procedural grounds and that both the governor and the agency have acted outside their authority. They further argue the directive violates parental rights by depriving them of due process and denies trans youth their right to equal protection under the law.
At a March 2 hearing, State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a restraining order on behalf of the family and Dr. Mooney, a ruling that will at least temporarily prevent Texan authorities from continuing their investigation of the parents of the 16-year-old girl and protect Dr. Mooney from threats to her license and practice. A second hearing is currently scheduled for March 11, which will determine whether the block will apply statewide.
Hours after news broke regarding the temporary halt on implementing the directive, Lambda Legal attorney Currey Cook told them. that the state had already appealed the partial halt on implementing Abbott’s directive. Cook maintained the gesture itself reflects Governor Abbott’s vicious and transphobic intentions. “It’s highly unusual and particularly punitive to appeal this order considering it only applies to one family and one mandatory reporter and didn’t grant statewide relief,” he said.
Cook, one of the attorneys working with Lambda Legal on the suit, has spent his career representing children in essentially all instances when they come into contact with the government. He’s currently the director of Lambda’s Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project, which advocates on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth in child welfare, juvenile justice, and homeless systems of care for youth experiencing homelessness. Prior to joining Lambda in 2012, Cook represented children in foster care and juvenile delinquency cases in Alaska, New Jersey, and New York, where he currently lives.
When them. reached Cook by phone last night, a little after 9 p.m. Eastern, he apologized for the bleary quiver in his voice. It was close to his twentieth call or interview of the day, he explained, and the topic was an emotional one. “We know how harmful family rejection is for kids,” he said. “And here we are with policies that are demonizing people who are doing the very thing that helps promote their kid's well-being and success.”
Below, Cook tells them. about the current legal state of Abbott’s directive, what parents and healthcare providers should do if they’re directly impacted by it, and how we can all combat this extraordinarily destructive measure.
As someone who's spent the entirety of your career working with children — and particularly the ways in which American law deals with their rights — what was your initial impression of Governor Abbott’s directive?
It was jaw-dropping. Appalled is the other word I would use. To use [his] authority in a way that is so directly harmful to children in [his] state, and so completely opposite to every medical association, or entity, or organization that speaks to the wellbeing of children, and to do that solely for your own personal political gain is just next-level horrific.
Obviously, people reading this will be aware that there are over 100 bills circulating state legislatures intended to restrict trans folk’s access to any variety of important things, whether it’s healthcare or participation in youth sports. This directive is different from those in that it is not moving through the legislature. Can you speak to the unique nature of this particular attack on trans rights and how we got to this point?
Yes. That's an excellent point and actually the thrust of our lawsuit against Governor Abbott, DFPS, and DFPS Commissioner Jaime Masters. Governor Abbott was not able to get a ban on gender-affirming healthcare through the Texas legislature this last regular session, or in special sessions. So he found another avenue of enforcing his anti-trans agenda.
[With this directive,] Abbott and Masters are creating a new rule that categorizes certain medically necessary healthcare as “child abuse” that should be investigated, which was not done through the administrative procedure act processes, meaning they did not give notice or solicit comment from citizens, nor did they base this directive on sound reasoning or policy and was not created through legislation. Instead, both Abbott and Masters have gone beyond their authority by attempting to legislate via press release. That’s what we’ve challenged — that they don’t have the legal authority to take any of these steps — and that they’re obviously violating both state administrative processes and the constitutional rights of Texan children and families.
I want to be very clear now. What does this directive do?
It takes information from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's non-binding opinion, which had a caveat about medically necessary care, and takes it a step further by characterizing all forms of gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth as “child abuse.” Abbott also added guidance that mandatory reporters in Texas are obligated to follow this interpretation of the law. After issuing the directive, Abbott then ordered Commissioner Masters to operationalize it by investigating any reports of [gender-affirming] procedures outlined in the directive and she and DFPS agreed to do so.
As I understand it, you all at Lamda, in conjunction with the ACLU and the law firm Baker Botts, have filed a suit against the directive. There was a hearing today, which led to a temporary block on the enforcement of the directive as it pertains to your particular plaintiffs. Now, as you mentioned, the state has appealed that ruling. What’s the current legal standing of the directive?
The temporary restraining order that was issued today was just to bar any further actions against our plaintiffs and to stop any reporting or investigation into Dr. Megan Mooney for failing to report clients who were receiving gender affirming healthcare. The state has maintained that this appeal stays all the proceedings going forward, meaning everything is on hold until the appeal is resolved. We’re going to be fighting that appeal and letting the appellate court know our position regarding the effect on the underlying order and opposing the state going forward and hope to have our temporary injunction hearing on schedule and as planned on March 11.
To clarify, does the temporary hold bar further investigations from being opened, or is it simply pertinent to the one outlined in your suit?
The temporary restraining order applies only to our clients in the lawsuit and did not have the effect of stopping DFPS from initiating further investigations. In her order, the judge set a hearing for a preliminary injunction on March 11, which is to determine whether there will be statewide relief.
So at least until March 11, there’s a possibility for Child Protective Services in Texas to initiate further investigations?
Yes. And so because investigations may continue, and there hasn’t been a statewide ban yet, we really encourage people to reach out to our help desk if they hear from DFPS, if they’ve been reported for child abuse. If you have DFPS coming to your door or hear they will be, please call us.
Okay, so now I want to ask you directly: If you’re the parent of a trans child in Texas right now, and you hear a knock on your door, what should you do?
It’s really important to remember that parents have a right to counsel, at any point in time, and should exercise that right. That’s why they should reach out to us, or to another legal service provider in Texas to access a lawyer as soon as possible.
More pragmatically, should they cooperate? Should they open the door to CPS? What is your advice for handling that situation?
As a general matter, in CPS investigations, if you have somebody at your door, I think it’s best to be cooperative. Speak to them, and say, “Thank you for stopping by. I’m going to retain a lawyer, and we will speak to you then.”
What resources are currently available to parents and healthcare providers who are impacted by this directive?
There’s a number of amazing organizations in Texas that have been providing emotional support, and information, and resources to parents. Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) has been a tremendous resource for folks. Obviously, Equality Texas, too, has been just extraordinary in calling out the awfulness of all of this, providing support for people, providing information sessions for families to help understand. Rio Grande Legal Aid has attorneys who represent parents who are involved with DFPS cases, or subject to investigation. They’ve stepped up. We have a number of local Texas attorneys that we work with as cooperating attorneys who have been donating their time to step in and represent parents when they have an investigation going on.
Then, of course, there are people like Dr. Mooney, one of our plaintiffs. Her practice is primarily working with trans and nonbinary young people. There are countless people in Texas who provide resources to kids and families. A horrible thing about this lawsuit is now those folks are feeling like they have to call reports of harm, even though legally they don’t because all this is non-binding. Going from Paxton’s opinion and Abbott's directive expanding what he declares “child abuse”, they’re feeling in a bind that they have to call, or worry about their licenses. Then, of course, young people are asking, “Well, should I talk to my therapist, or other supportive adults, like teachers or counselors about who I am, and any care I’m receiving?”
What are some things that concerned folks from around the country can do to support the work of resisting this directive?
We know that there are a number of states that have anti-LGBTQ bills that are pending, including some states like Alabama with bills that would seek to end and criminalize healthcare for trans youth. A first step is to check if there are things that you can speak out about that are harmful to trans youth and to LGBTQ youth, generally, in your state. If so, call your legislator and detail your opposition. Testify in the committee. Call the governor’s office — any elected official. This threat in Texas is particularly awful and specific, but unfortunately the underlying intention of using trans youth as a political tool is not unique.
On a practical level, there are organizations like TENT that are providing a lot of support. Folks can donate to them. There are other organizations like Campaign for Southern Equality that are providing some rapid resource response, financial support to families.
Education is helpful, too. People around the country need to know how harmful these anti-trans bills and directives are. We need to lift up what’s happening so that the country understands that this is a national outrage. We need to emphasize that transgender youth are just trying to be healthy and happy. The more support from family and community the more likely they are to be have awesome outcomes in life.
I also think it’s helpful to relate directly to parents [of trans kids], saying to them, “I appreciate you standing up and supporting your child. I’m here with you. You’re doing what you should do, which is loving and supporting your child. We’re here with you.”
Lastly, support trans kids. There are countless studies that show just one supportive adult can make an enormous difference. That can be a teacher. That can be a neighbor. It can be a coach. It could be you.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
