The temporary injunction issued by Judge Jan Soifer interrupts the investigations against three sued families and prevents any similar investigations against members of the LGBTQ PFLAG Inc. defense team. The group has more than 600 members in Texas. “I find that there is sufficient reason to believe that plaintiffs will suffer immediate and irreparable injury if the Commissioner and the (Department of Family and Welfare Services) are allowed to continue to apply and enforce this new rule of the Ministry which equates the care that the sex with child abuse “, said Seifer at the end of about 40 minutes of listening. The ruling comes about a month after the Texas Supreme Court allowed the state to investigate transgender youth parents for child abuse, and also ruled in favor of a family that was one of the first child care agents to be commissioned by Republican Repubblican. “The fact that families will be protected from invasive, unnecessary and disturbing research by DFPS just to help their trans children thrive and be themselves is very good,” said Brian K. Bond, Executive Director of PFLAG National . “However, let it be clear: This research on love and affirmation of families should not be done from the beginning.” The latest challenge was presented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the families of three teenagers – two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old – and PFLAG. Lambda Legal’s lawyer told the judge that the 14-year-old’s family had learned after the lawsuit was filed that the state investigation into them had stopped. Representatives for Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. A state attorney had argued during the hearing that enforcing the order on any PFLAG member was “unfounded” and would be difficult for the department to comply with. However, Lambda Legal senior adviser Paul Castillo said the parents could simply show proof of participation or some other proof of membership. The families had spoken in court about the stress the investigations had created on them and their children. The mother of one of the teenagers said that her son attempted suicide and was hospitalized the day Abbott issued his instruction. The outpatient psychiatric facility where the teenager was referred reported the family as child abuse after learning he had been prescribed hormone therapy, he told a court. A judge in March placed Abbott’s order on hold following a lawsuit filed against a 16-year-old girl whose family said she was under investigation. The Texas Supreme Court ruled in May that the lower court had exceeded its authority by blocking all future investigations. This lawsuit marked the first report of parents being investigated since the Abbott directive and a previous non-binding legal opinion from Paxton describing some treatments that confirm gender as “child abuse”. The Texas Department of Family and Welfare said it had launched nine investigations following the directive and opinion. Abbott’s directive and the attorney general’s opinion are at odds with the nation’s largest medical groups, including the American Medical Association, who have opposed Republican-backed restrictions submitted to state authorities across the country. Arkansas became the first state to pass a law last year banning sex-affirming treatments for minors, and Tennessee passed a similar measure. A judge has blocked Arkansas law and a federal appeals court will hear the case next week. The judge ordered a hearing on June 21 on whether to extend the mandate to an interim injunction barring investigations.
