Texas | August 13, 2021
Gender Reassignment Surgery Is Child Abuse, Says Texas Commissioner
Texas | August 13, 2021
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday he received a letter from the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services determining that genital mutilation of a child through gender transitioning surgery constitutes child abuse.
Abbott had directed DFPS to issue a determination on the matter last week and the department’s commissioner Jaime Masters replied with his findings.
“Genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse,” Masters wrote. “This surgical procedure physically alters a child’s genitalia for non-medical purposes potentially inflicting irreversible harm to children’s bodies,” he wrote.
“Generally, children in the care and custody of a parent lack the legal capacity to consent to surgical treatments, making them more vulnerable.”
In the letter, Masters said that allegations involving genital mutilation of a child would be promptly investigated… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
Texas | August 10, 2021
Second Federal Court Blocks Biden Mandate Requiring Doctors To Perform Trans Surgeries Against Conscience
Texas | August 10, 2021
A federal court has blocked President Joe Biden’s mandate that would require doctors to perform transgender surgeries against their consciences. Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls Division, granted “a permanent injunction” to the Christian plaintiffs “to be exempt from the government’s requirement to perform abortions and gender-transition procedures.” “Today’s ruling protects patients, aligns with current medical research, and ensures doctors aren’t forced to violate their religious beliefs and medical judgment–a victory for common-sense, conscience, and sound medicine,” vice president and senior counsel at Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Luke Goodrich said Monday. The plaintiffs are a religious hospital and a group of over 20,000 healthcare professionals,… (Excerpts from the Daily Caller)
Texas | July 8, 2021
Texas legislature to take up voting limits, transgenderism in special session
Texas | July 8, 2021
(Reuters) – Texas lawmakers will kick off a special session on Thursday to consider a range of Republican-backed measures, including voting restrictions that Democratic lawmakers previously blocked.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott has also instructed state lawmakers to consider bills that would block transgender students from competing in athletics that correspond with their gender identity, fund arrests of immigrants living in the country illegally, restrict abortion access and limit teaching about the role of racism in the United States.
Republican-controlled legislatures across the country have passed similar measures in recent months in an effort to push back against Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda and satisfy diehard supporters of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
“We have unfinished business to ensure that Texas remains the most exceptional state in America,” Abbott said in a statement on Wednesday as he released the agenda for the special session.
In a dramatic walkout on May 30, just before the end of the state’s regular legislative session, Democratic lawmakers denied Republicans the quorum needed to pass a bill that would have limited early voting hours, added new identification requirements for absentee voting and banned ballot drop boxes.
The boycott marked a notable victory for Democrats, who have unsuccessfully fought a slew of similar laws passed since the beginning of the year in states where, like in Texas, Republicans control both the state legislature and the governor’s office….
(Excerpts from Reuters and SRNNEWS)
Texas | June 16, 2021
State Board Cannot Punish Discrimination for Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, Paxton Writes
Texas | June 16, 2021
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said yesterday that the state board in charge of licensing social workers cannot punish them for gender identity or sexual orientation discrimination.
The Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) licenses counselors, family therapists, psychologists, and social workers. A young agency, the legislature created the BHEC in 2019 and authorized it to punish license holders that refuse to serve recipients “solely because of the recipient’s age, sex, race, religion, national origin, color, or political affiliation.”
However, the BHEC slightly changed this rule when adopting it…
(Excerpts from The Texan)
Texas | May 9, 2021
Bill to Protect Women’s Sports Gets New Life
Texas | May 9, 2021
After voting earlier this week to reject a bill to stop men from playing on women’s sports teams in Texas public schools, political retribution has given the bill new life.
On Tuesday, the House Public Education Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 29, the proposal to protect women’s sports, which is a legislative priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee voted and the bill failed to pass.
On Friday morning, the bill was brought up again in committee and passed by a vote of 8 in favor and 5 in opposition. What changed? It seems politics in the Texas House may be the answer….
(Excerpts from Texas Scorecard)
Texas | April 14, 2021
Texas Legislature Holds Hearings on Sex Change Procedures for Kids
Texas | April 14, 2021
Two bills aimed at banning sex-change procedures for children made their way onto the schedule of the State Affairs Committee of the Texas Senate today. Both would ban drugs or surgeries to change a child’s sex, though each bill takes a different approach with regards to enforcement. Before a time of impassioned citizen testimony, the committee heard from the father of a purportedly transgender child named James Younger as well as a psychologist and an Austin-based researcher. Jeff Younger, whose son James became the center of a politicized custody battle after his mother alleged that he identified as a girl named Luna, testified that the current legal environment in Texas enables easy gender transitions for children.
“Without my consent, my ex-wife just transitioned my son to a girl… It’s very easy under these current protocols for children to fall into this,” Jeff said….
(Excerpts from The Texan)