A group of Texas parents with transgender children have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a state ban on gender transition procedures for minors.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) last month signed into law Senate Bill 14, which bans puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone replacement, and transition surgeries for children. The lawsuit brought by the parents argues that the law is discriminatory and violates their rights as parents, the Texas Tribune reported. It uses legal arguments similar to those that halted similar bans in Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee.
NINE TAKEAWAYS FROM FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY'S TESTIMONY
“The attack that Texas legislators and the governor have launched against transgender youth and their families and providers is stunning in its cruelty,” Paul D. Castillo, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, which filed the lawsuit, said. “They are actively ignoring the science, dismissing best-practice medical care, intervening in a parent’s right to care for and love their child, and explicitly exposing trans youth in Texas to rampant discrimination. This law is not just harmful and cruel, it is life-threatening.”
LGBT activists tout a variety of medical organizations that claim transgender procedures are safe, and have no long-term effects. Others have expressed skepticism about the science behind the procedures.
“The science on gender dysphoria lacks sufficient high-quality evidence documented, and there’s a growing list of harms, established side effects that accompany patients,” State Rep. Tom Oliverson said during the House debate over the bill.
The American College of Pediatricians, a conservative medical advocacy group, argues that such treatments are not only unproven but dangerous.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
"There is not a single long-term study to demonstrate the safety or efficacy of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for transgender-believing youth," the group said. "This means that youth transition is experimental, and therefore, parents cannot provide informed consent, nor can minors provide assent for these interventions. Moreover, the best long-term evidence we have among adults shows that medical intervention fails to reduce suicide."
The group wrote that puberty blockers and hormone therapy may be the cause of health problems such as "osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment, and when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility. In addition to the harm from [manufactured hormone] Lupron, cross-sex hormones put youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots, and cancers across their lifespan."