At an increasing rate in the 21st century, more teens reaching puberty are finding something amiss with themselves. These teens feel uncomfortable in their bodies and how they are changing.

Some feel at odds with what their brains say was formerly correct. This disharmony between body and mind is called gender dysphoria.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, “People with gender dysphoria may be very uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned, sometimes described as being uncomfortable with their body (particularly developments during puberty) or being uncomfortable with the expected roles of their assigned gender.”

These people identify as transgender or gender non-conforming people.

This means that they identify with the opposite sex than they were born with, or sometimes identify with no sex at all. To make this transition successful and minimize or eliminate dysphoria, many teens and adults making the change begin “gender-affirmation care,” which can include puberty/hormone blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery.

However, recent directives issued by Texas Governor Greg Abbott under the guidance of an opinion released by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urge “licensed professionals and members of the general public” to report cases of said care given to minors to authorities.

Paxton’s opinion, which goes against any guidance issued by the relevant medical organizations (American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association), claims that allowing children to receive gender-affirming care is child abuse.

These directives were received with outrage by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s terrifying for kids who now fear that their parents might be taken away from them and jailed if they support them,” Jenny Lawson, a mother of a non-binary teen, said.

Other parents fear that this directive may only make life worse for their children.

“I’m concerned that this attack is only going to grow,” Amber Briggle, mother of a transgender teen, said.

The issued directives are not laws, as the bill that would have made them so failed to pass in 2021.

Legally, these parents have done nothing wrong. On the contrary, experts from the American Psychiatric Association have stated that those who are denied or have no access to gender-affirming treatments and need it can become anxious, depressed, socially withdrawn, or suicidal.

Since the directive has been issued, a Texas judge has blocked one investigation of abuse into a sixteen-year-old trans girl on the grounds of her gender-affirmation therapy. This was after her parents sued the state for a restraining order, a decision that Attorney General Paxton has since filed to repeal.

Sources:

Texas Tribune

NBC

Psychiatry

Today

GLAAD