TX AG Ken Paxton Accuses Opponents Of ‘Chopping Off Boys’ And Girls’ Private Parts’

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Ken Paxton

Last year, the Texas legislature failed to pass a ban on gender confirming health care for trans kids. You’d think that parents and doctors trying to help their children live safe and healthy lives in the Lone Star State would be able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that they are no longer in danger of being prosecuted for child abuse. But you would be wrong, thanks to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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In response to a query from Fort Worth Republican state Rep. Matt Krause, Paxton issued an Advisory Opinion declaring his intent to treat this life saving care as child abuse and genital mutilation, both of which are felonies.

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“By definition, procedures and treatments resulting in sterilization cause ‘physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child’ by surgically altering key physical body parts of the child in ways that render entire body parts, organs, and the entire reproductive system of the child physically incapable of functioning,” he writes, going on to characterize both surgical and hormonal interventions as abusive.

“Even where the procedure or treatment does not involve the physical removal or alteration of a child’s reproductive organs (i.e. puberty blockers), these procedures and treatments can cause “mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning” by subjecting a child to the mental and emotional injury associated with lifelong sterilization—an impairment to one’s growth and development,” Paxton writes.

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The opinion memo relies heavily on biased sources, such as the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine and a conservative think tank in Princeton, New Jersey. What it does not cite is the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Texas Pediatric Society, which last year sent a letter obtained by the Dallas Morning News to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services opposing the then-pending legislation.

“Medical care for transgender children and adolescents is evidence-based and has proven effectiveness. Guidelines for appropriate treatment have been carefully developed and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American College of Physicians , World Professional Association for Transgender Health , and the American Psychological Association,” they wrote, urging the state’s politicians not to intrude in decisions made by kids and their parents in consultation with their own doctors.

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Paxton chose to disregard the opinion of people with actual medical training, substituting instead his own personal beliefs about the immutability of gender:

[I]t remains medically impossible to truly change the sex of an individual because this is determined biologically at conception. No doctor can replace a fully functioning male sex organ with a fully functioning female sex organ (or vice versa). In reality, these “sex change” procedures seek to destroy a fully functioning sex organ in order to cosmetically create the illusion of a sex change.

“Sex-change operations and puberty blockers prescribed to kids is ‘child abuse’ under Texas law. These procedures are monstrous and tragic,” he congratulated himself on Twitter. “I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.”

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The high-minded rhetoric lasted approximately five minutes.

Wait. Chopping off boys’ and girls’ private parts is “health care” for children??? The left and DMN have lost their minds. https://t.co/R2llcuQStj

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 21, 2022

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And meanwhile, trans kids in Texas are denied care by someone who beats his chest and claims to be their protector.

Aren’t the culture wars fun? Let’s do this forever!

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: Gender-affirming care for transgender children is abuse [Dallas Morning News]

Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

Topics

Government, Ken Paxton, LGBTQ, Trans Issues