A Texas judge temporarily blocked the state from investigating the parents of a transgender teen, a day after they sued Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over his abrupt directive against care for trans youth in the state last week. One of the parents who sued Abbott works for the state agency carrying out the governor’s order.
Good, if limited, ruling.
Republicans have no soul
As the majority of Americans become more tolerant of their friends’, neighbors’, and family’s differences-- evil mf-ers like Abbott have to dig ever deeper to contrive new boogie-men (and -children).
Support Beto. Vote Beto.
Cruelty is the prime directive.
I haven’t heard if they’ve thought beyond an investigation into a trans child getting gender affirming care. If as this directive states that gender affirming care is child abuse then the DFPS has the obligation to remove the child from the abusers.
I am not a lawyer, and, being exhausted with all the recent, awful and disparate news, I haven’t followed this story perhaps as closely as I should have. Since this matter concerns health care, and parents tending to the health care of their children in all ways, aren’t there probable HIPAA violations in these so-called investigations? The Repubs cry individual freedom and sovereignty of a person and their body up and until it flies in the face of their grotesque politics.
HIPAA protects you from the unauthorized revelation of your medical records. There work arounds for Government and authority folks. However if you’re dumb enough to volunteer it just because some ass is at your door you have no remedy.
I don’t think this bill was premised on anything but being a "75 to 80% winner politically. Abbott’s folks said as much. It’s out there for that and they know it’s doomed in the long run.
I’ve taken to telling conservative homophobes and transphobic that It’s all smug and righteous until your son brings his boyfriend home. If he hasn’t committed suicide under the weight of your disapproval, or even has the courage to bring him home at all.
I’ve known two trans people. The first was a housemate when I was a grad student in 1975. The second was an intern in 2015. Both described it the same way: A deep feeling from early childhood that the world had played a hideously cruel joke on them - being born into the wrong body.
To the Texas Republicans this is just another attempt to create another ‘other’ to despise and look down on. Deplorable.
I thought parents are to make decisions.
It is transparently clear that Abbott is just looking to find a “dog whistle” issue to support his political ambitions. It says quite a bit about his unfitness to hold any political office that he’s so amoral, petty, and cruel as to use victimizing a child to provide a focus for rallying his followers.
“If anyone causes one of these little ones–those who believe in me–to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
Jesus speaking in [Matthew 18:6]
One of the few times Jesus was vindictive. Not bad for a Jew, huh? I have actually read the alleged teachings of Jesus to understand Christianity. Needless to say, I suspect I have read more than most self-proclaimed Christians.
Investigating parents and interfering with any doctor-patient relationship is wrong. I’m concerned that making this political will obscure the fact that Finland backed away from medicalizing minors back in 2020 (after years of following the Dutch protocol but not seeing the expected results), Sweden has limited the number of pediatric gender clinics and issued new guidelines that emphasize psychological care before medicalization and France has issued a statement calling for more caution, given the rapidly changing demographics of gender dysphoric kids and the growing numbers of detransitioners. Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists have also expressed concern. The wider western world is taking a second look at the idea that trans is the new gay. If you are gay, all you need is acceptance, there’s no medical burden.
One aspect of this case I have not seen anyone commenting upon is the fact that the ACLU brought the case in state court and raised only state law and state constitutional challenges. The omission of federal constitutional claims-and boy howdy are there ever some federal constitutional problems with this bullshit-is conspicuous.
Before the Trumpification of the federal judiciary, this case would have, as a matter of course, been filed in federal court with the federal claims first and the state law claims raised under what we lawyers can’t stop calling “pendant jurisdiction” even though we’re supposed to call it “supplemental jurisdiction” now.
The waiver of those claims in this action shows that the ACLU has made a considered decision that a) that the Texas Supreme Court is more sane than the Fifth Circuit now and b) that at all costs, this issue must not be put before the current SCOTUS.
HIPAA does not prevent disclosure pursuant to law enforcement search warrant.
I forget which species of the abstention doctrine it is that would prevent that, but federal courts are not supposed to preempt state law enforcement/prosecutors from bringing a case under state law. Otherwise, every actual or potential defendant would run to federal court to complain that the locals are just being big meanies.
Besides, it’s Travis County. None of those judges were ever going to tolerate Abbott’s bullshit here.
As a parent of two grown trans kids @susanintheoc, I’d say that’s true, but ONLY within Republican’t-approved guidelines; otherwise it’s closer to, ‘fuck those breeders!’
(You know, the same as for other ‘post-fetuses’.)
So, the planned investigations included any effort up to and including obtaining a search warrant through a court order?
Given the opportunity to govern in a responsible way or attacking vulnerable people, Republicans are hell-bent on attacking vulnerable people. Abbott has done nothing about fixing ERCOT, the power grid or the skyrocketing rates Texans have to pay because the damn utilities there cut too many corners to turn profits. Abbott is okay with the chaos his party unleashed with their new voting laws. He still has screwed the National Guard with his bullshit border stunts. He’s placed bounties on anyone connected to abortions. He’s got Republicans in his state ready to have book-burning parties- especially if those books have anything to do with Diversity, Inclusion or Racism- better known to Republicans as CRT. In all, his conservative philosophies are sinking the state, and rather than admit wrong, or pivot, he found another group to throw under the bus so he doesn’t have to admit being wrong.
The new Republican Party is nothing more than the same 1950s era party with more hate in it’s heart.
My thoughts for all the parents in TX facing a facist state government and those TX state employees who thought they were supposed to be serving the people, not terrorizing them.
No, but that’s how they’d have to obtain it unless the parents waived, which they didn’t.