Help Family Leave Texas to Keep Trans Child Safe
Donation protected
Susan and Brian are the proud parents of two children, a cis boy and a trans girl. Their daughter’s social transition has been very gradual, lasting more than three years. They have followed her lead at every step, showing her nothing but acceptance and support. Affirming their daughter came naturally, but it was also informed by guidance from pediatricians, writings by experts, and a consensus among professional organizations.
Texas’s Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton have declared affirming parents of trans children to be child abusers, subject to CPS investigation, criminal prosecution, and forced family separation. While the Paxton letter and guidance from Abbott mainly apply to medical interventions, which Susan and Brian’s daughter has not had and is unlikely to need for years to come, anyone who makes a claim about their family can trigger a CPS investigation.
Click here to listen to a Texas Public Radio report that features their interview.
At best, such an investigation would be extremely distressing. At worst, it could lead to their children being removed from their home, separating them from their loving parents, and to Susan and Brian being prosecuted. If their children were taken from them, their daughter would almost certainly be forcibly detransitioned, which would be a form of torture for her. The pain experienced by the entire family would be immeasurable and change their lives forever.
Additional anti-trans measures and laws continue to loom on the horizon, while affirming medical providers close one after another. The outlook for trans kids and their families in Texas grows darker almost every moment, with little hope for immediate solutions.
Despite having lived in Austin for 25 years and having close family members and countless friends in the city, Brian and Susan are currently planning to move to another state. While leaving the place that has been their home for most of their adult lives will be very difficult, it is more than worth it in order to keep their children safe.
The situation for affirming families of trans children in Texas is changing, sometimes rapidly. It’s likely that during the course of this fundraiser, rulings in court cases will change this situation in one way or another. This is also an election year, so election results may have some effect. Regardless of these developments, powerful conservative politicians in Texas will, without a doubt, continue to seek ways to terrorize trans kids and their affirming families, particularly when the legislature starts a new session in early 2023. For this reason, Susan and Brian are planning to leave Texas regardless of court challenges or the results of the 2022 election.
The funds raised from this campaign will be used to help Brian and Susan’s family with moving expenses, including relocation costs, fees to be paid for breaking their lease, replacing furniture and other necessary items in their new home, and other expenses related to their quest for a safe home. If the family becomes the subject of a spurious CPS report, resulting in a need for legal assistance, funds may be used toward legal expenses so that the family can remain together and then relocate when they are able to. Any funds remaining after these expenses are addressed will be redistributed either to specific affirming families in need or to nonprofits who are providing relocation expenses and/or legal aid to affirming families.
Please consider donating any amount to help defray the cost of moving for Susan, Brian and their children!
Another way to help them is to share this campaign with friends and family.
FAQ:
Why are families of trans kids leaving Texas?
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a legal opinion in the form of a letter stating that affirming trans kids was a form of child abuse, and Governor Greg Abbott followed this with guidance to state agencies requiring them to apply this definition by pursuing CPS investigations of affirming families. Anti-trans legislators have also passed a law against trans children participating in sports and have proposed many other anti-trans legislation that would harm trans children, with more such legislation expected in Texas’s next legislative session beginning in early 2023. Governor Abbott and his staff have also applied pressure to affirming medical care providers, resulting in more than one clinic closure already. More closures are likely to follow.
Is it safe to affirm children who say they are trans?
Experts in this area and major professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association agree that affirming parenting is the best course of action when children tell or show their parents that they are gender-creative or transgender. These experts and organizations also recommend affirming medical treatment when children reach the right age, with many protections in place to ensure they are used safely. Many anti-trans campaigners tell lies about affirming medical care for children, claiming that young children receive medical treatments, that such treatments are given too quickly and easily without safety checks, and that many children who receive such treatments regret them later in life. These claims are all completely false and stem from transphobic bias.
I thought a judge had thrown out the legal measures caused by the Paxton letter. Why are people still concerned?
A temporary injunction was put in place in March of 2022 that enforced a pause on investigations of affirming families of trans children for a while, but the Texas Supreme Court ruled on May 13, 2022, that the injunction could only apply to the specific family represented in the case, not to families across Texas. They did not rule on the merits of the case, which will be considered by the Third Court of Appeals based in Austin. While trans rights advocates hope that future rulings may help with the current situation, there is no guarantee that legal remedies of this sort will protect affirming families. Even if a ruling put a permanent stop to this policy put into place because it was put in place through the Paxton letter and guidance from Abbott, if the same policy were put in place through legislation, it might be allowed. And other discriminatory laws have already been passed, with more being considered for the next legislative session.
I thought the Paxton letter only applied to medical treatment. Why are families of children who don’t receive affirming medical care still concerned?
Any family who is reported to the state as affirming their trans child could be investigated by CPS, with all of the potential consequences that brings. Myths and misinformation about affirming parenting and medical treatment abound, so some people may report families because they believe false claims about medical treatment of younger children. There is also a great deal of confusion about what is considered a medical intervention. While this is often taken to refer to medications or to surgeries (which are typically only done after trans kids become legal adults), taking a trans child to see a therapist or visiting with a specialist, such as an endocrinologist, to learn about future treatment options and their implications could both be considered by some to be medical treatment. Meanwhile, the Paxton letter has led to the closure of some affirming medical providers in the state already, following at least one major provider that was pressured to close by Governor Abbott and his staff before the letter was even released. Children in Texas who do not need medical treatment now are becoming less and less likely to have access to that treatment years from now when they do need it.
What are the risks involved in a CPS investigation if a family experiences one?
CPS investigations are inherently distressing. Some cases can be approached using something called “alternative response” which is less invasive and used in cases where children do not appear to be in immediate danger. Governor Abbott’s guidance to state agencies has specified that alternative response is never to be used in cases against affirming parents of trans children–only fully investigations are acceptable. These cases are also supposed to be pursued without the normal level of documentation, lending them a disturbing level of secrecy. Affirming parents who were investigated before the Paxton letter have reported extremely distressing investigations, including children being pulled out of class to be interviewed without their parents present and, of course, the threat of family separation. Risks after the letter are undoubtedly higher. There are no known cases of a family having their children removed due to an investigation following the Paxton letter, but this appears to be due to the fact that these investigations simply haven’t been concluded yet. Such investigations could easily lead to children being removed from safe and loving homes, parents being prosecuted, and trans children being forcibly detransitioned. These risks are very real. Families are also unable to avoid these investigations by fleeing to another state–court orders, extradition, and other means can be used to get to these families no matter where they go. So once an investigation begins, it may already be too late for parents to avoid the worst of consequences. An investigation alone could be somewhat traumatic for trans kids and their siblings. Being torn from safe and loving families would be even more traumatic. And forcibly detransitioning trans kids, as would undoubtedly be the next step after family separation, would be irreparably harmful.
Another way to help them is to share this campaign with friends and family.
FAQ:
Why are families of trans kids leaving Texas?
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a legal opinion in the form of a letter stating that affirming trans kids was a form of child abuse, and Governor Greg Abbott followed this with guidance to state agencies requiring them to apply this definition by pursuing CPS investigations of affirming families. Anti-trans legislators have also passed a law against trans children participating in sports and have proposed many other anti-trans legislation that would harm trans children, with more such legislation expected in Texas’s next legislative session beginning in early 2023. Governor Abbott and his staff have also applied pressure to affirming medical care providers, resulting in more than one clinic closure already. More closures are likely to follow.
Is it safe to affirm children who say they are trans?
Experts in this area and major professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association agree that affirming parenting is the best course of action when children tell or show their parents that they are gender-creative or transgender. These experts and organizations also recommend affirming medical treatment when children reach the right age, with many protections in place to ensure they are used safely. Many anti-trans campaigners tell lies about affirming medical care for children, claiming that young children receive medical treatments, that such treatments are given too quickly and easily without safety checks, and that many children who receive such treatments regret them later in life. These claims are all completely false and stem from transphobic bias.
I thought a judge had thrown out the legal measures caused by the Paxton letter. Why are people still concerned?
A temporary injunction was put in place in March of 2022 that enforced a pause on investigations of affirming families of trans children for a while, but the Texas Supreme Court ruled on May 13, 2022, that the injunction could only apply to the specific family represented in the case, not to families across Texas. They did not rule on the merits of the case, which will be considered by the Third Court of Appeals based in Austin. While trans rights advocates hope that future rulings may help with the current situation, there is no guarantee that legal remedies of this sort will protect affirming families. Even if a ruling put a permanent stop to this policy put into place because it was put in place through the Paxton letter and guidance from Abbott, if the same policy were put in place through legislation, it might be allowed. And other discriminatory laws have already been passed, with more being considered for the next legislative session.
I thought the Paxton letter only applied to medical treatment. Why are families of children who don’t receive affirming medical care still concerned?
Any family who is reported to the state as affirming their trans child could be investigated by CPS, with all of the potential consequences that brings. Myths and misinformation about affirming parenting and medical treatment abound, so some people may report families because they believe false claims about medical treatment of younger children. There is also a great deal of confusion about what is considered a medical intervention. While this is often taken to refer to medications or to surgeries (which are typically only done after trans kids become legal adults), taking a trans child to see a therapist or visiting with a specialist, such as an endocrinologist, to learn about future treatment options and their implications could both be considered by some to be medical treatment. Meanwhile, the Paxton letter has led to the closure of some affirming medical providers in the state already, following at least one major provider that was pressured to close by Governor Abbott and his staff before the letter was even released. Children in Texas who do not need medical treatment now are becoming less and less likely to have access to that treatment years from now when they do need it.
What are the risks involved in a CPS investigation if a family experiences one?
CPS investigations are inherently distressing. Some cases can be approached using something called “alternative response” which is less invasive and used in cases where children do not appear to be in immediate danger. Governor Abbott’s guidance to state agencies has specified that alternative response is never to be used in cases against affirming parents of trans children–only fully investigations are acceptable. These cases are also supposed to be pursued without the normal level of documentation, lending them a disturbing level of secrecy. Affirming parents who were investigated before the Paxton letter have reported extremely distressing investigations, including children being pulled out of class to be interviewed without their parents present and, of course, the threat of family separation. Risks after the letter are undoubtedly higher. There are no known cases of a family having their children removed due to an investigation following the Paxton letter, but this appears to be due to the fact that these investigations simply haven’t been concluded yet. Such investigations could easily lead to children being removed from safe and loving homes, parents being prosecuted, and trans children being forcibly detransitioned. These risks are very real. Families are also unable to avoid these investigations by fleeing to another state–court orders, extradition, and other means can be used to get to these families no matter where they go. So once an investigation begins, it may already be too late for parents to avoid the worst of consequences. An investigation alone could be somewhat traumatic for trans kids and their siblings. Being torn from safe and loving families would be even more traumatic. And forcibly detransitioning trans kids, as would undoubtedly be the next step after family separation, would be irreparably harmful.
Organizer and beneficiary
Rebecca Steingut
Organizer
Austin, TX
Susan and Brian
Beneficiary
