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Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Monday, August 30, 2021
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• Currently, medical professionals in Texas are allowed to cut off children’s healthy body parts as part of gender surgeries, or chemically castrate them by giving them sterilizing cross-sex hormones and puberty blocker drugs.

• The issue surfaced in large part due to the high-profile case of James Younger, a 9-year-old from Dallas whose mother wanted to force him—against his father’s wishes—to take sterilizing drugs and eventually castrate him.
   

• Since the national coverage of the case two years ago, the issue became a Republican Party of Texas priority. But so far nothing has been done in the state legislature…

• Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott was asked about the issue during a radio interview with Mark Davis on KSKY. He said the chances the of the Texas House passing the bill was “nil”.  Instead, Abbott said he had a different way of achieving the same goal that he would roll out shortly. 
   
• Several weeks later  Abbott sent a public letter to the Department of Family and Protective Services, asking them to decide if cutting off a child’s healthy body parts in such surgeries classifies as child abuse —ignoring the other issues involved, such as psychological coercion. The next week, the agency replied that such operations are indeed child abuse.
   
• “This ruling is helpful, but not enough. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are not addressed in this ruling and are far more common than expensive surgeries,” said Matt Rinaldi, the Republican Party of Texas chairman. “Governor Abbott still needs to add a complete gender modification ban to the special session call.”
   

• State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) sent them a follow-up letter asking if that definition of abuse also included puberty blocker drugs and psychological counseling that teaches children they’re the opposite sex, the methods most commonly used in minors in Texas. Two weeks later, DFPS has still not responded.
   

• Additionally, State Rep. Matt Krause (R–Haslet) sent a request to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking if “certain medical procedures performed on children without medical necessity constitute child abuse.” Paxton has not yet announced an opinion.

• Despite the issue not being placed on any of the special session calls this summer by Gov. Abbott,  citizens are still urging Gov. Abbott to include the proposed child protection laws on the state Legislature’s to-do list for the current and eventual upcoming special legislative sessions.

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