AUSTIN, Texas – A Travis County District Court today blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General’s Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily halting the attorney general’s demand that PFLAG, Inc. turn over information and documents about its support of families in Texas seeking gender-affirming medical care for their transgender youth.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and Transgender Law Center — the organizations who filed a new lawsuit on behalf of PFLAG National and requested a temporary restraining order against the attorney general’s investigative demands Wednesday evening — issued the following joint statement:
“We’re grateful that the Court saw the harm the Attorney General’s Office’s intrusive demands posed for PFLAG National and its Texas members — and is protecting them from having to respond while we continue to litigate the legality of the office’s requests. We now will return to court to seek an extended and ultimately permanent block so that PFLAG can continue supporting its Texas members with transgender youth in doing what all loving parents do: supporting and caring for their children.”
On February 9, PFLAG National received civil demands from the Attorney General’s Office to turn over documents, communications, and information related to PFLAG National and the organization’s work helping families with transgender adolescents.
PFLAG National is a plaintiff in two lawsuits filed against restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for adolescents in Texas: one lawsuit Loe v. Texas, challenging S.B. 14, the state’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, and PFLAG v. Abbott, challenging the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ (DFPS) rule mandating investigations of parents who work with medical professionals to provide their adolescent transgender children with medically necessary health care.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, and the law firm Arnold & Porter represent PFLAG, Inc. in this newly filed case.
For background on these cases and more information, visit the FAQ at pflag.org/resource/texas-faq.
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources or support, please visit:
- Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) https://www.transtexas.org/resources
- TXtranskids.org https://www.txtranskids.org/help
- Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860 or https://www.translifeline.org
- Trevor Project at 866-488-7386 or https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
