Texas judge hears case on state’s gender care investigations

A Texas judge is holding a hearing on whether state officials should be allowed to conduct child abuse investigations over transgender youth receiving gender-confirming care.

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum is hearing from attorneys for the state and the parents of a 16-year-old girl who were being investigated by the Department of Family and Protective Services over such care.

Last week, Meachum issued a temporary order halting the investigation of the 16-year-old’s parents.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued his directive following a legal opinion by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, which claims gender-confirming procedures “constitute child abuse.”

The 16-year-old’s mother works for the state and was reportedly placed on leave once she was informed she was being investigated.

The teenager has reportedly received puberty-delaying medication and hormone therapy.

The hearing comes the same day that dozens of major companies — including Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Meta and Microsoft — criticized the Texas directive in a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News.

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