{"id":506376,"date":"2022-03-07T18:42:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T18:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glaad.logalt.net\/tap\/greg-abbott\/"},"modified":"2024-04-22T12:21:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T16:21:05","slug":"greg-abbott","status":"publish","type":"gap","link":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/gap\/greg-abbott\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg Abbott"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014Said<\/a> he wanted to “end” transgender gender nonconforming teachers expressing their gender identity while teaching in Texas.<\/p>\n

\u2014Senior campaign adviser for Abbott\u2019s re-election campaign, Dave Carney, quoted<\/a> as saying he considers the targeting of trans youth and their families \u201ca 75, 80% winner\u201d for Abbott. The president of the American Psychological Association, Frank Worrell, responded<\/a> to this opinion with a statement of fact, calling Abbott\u2019s efforts against trans youth and their families: \u201cThis ill-conceived directive from the Texas governor will put at-risk children at even higher risk of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide. Gender-affirming care promotes the health and well-being of transgender youth and is provided by medical and mental health professionals, based on well-established scientific research.<\/p>\n

\u2014Issued a directive to Texas residents to report parents of transgender minors to authorities for child abuse if it appears those children are receiving gender-affirming medical care. The order, calling on the state\u2019s Department of Family and Protective Services to \u201cconduct a prompt and thorough investigation\u201d of any reported instances of minors undergoing \u201celective procedures for gender transitioning,\u201d followed the release of an opinion<\/a> by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that equated gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery, with child abuse. Abbott said those who fail to report instances of minors receiving gender-affirming medical care could face \u201ccriminal penalties.\u201d The opinion ignores guidance from every major medical association in the United States, all of which support<\/a> gender affirming care for transgender youth. Gender-affirming care is medically necessary and backed by decades of research. Abbott\u2019s memo was met with widespread condemnation from healthcare providers<\/a> and The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Texas Pediatric Society, who responded with a joint statement<\/a>: \u201cEvidence-based medical care for transgender and gender diverse children is a complex issue that pediatricians are uniquely qualified to provide. This directive undermines the physician-patient-family relationship and will cause undue harm to children in Texas. Local media<\/a> also responded with facts from healthcare providers and local Texans about the danger of the director. Five Texas district attorneys<\/a> said they would ignore the guidance as it is unconstitutional, disturbing and an \u201cegregious invasion of privacy.\u201d On March 3rd, the Travis County District Court ordered<\/a> the state to halt an investigation into a trans child’s parent, who works for the Department of Family and Protective Services.<\/p>\n

\u2014Falsely described<\/a> a pair of LGBTQ memoirs as \u201cpornography\u201d in an effort to have the books removed from school libraries. Abbott\u2019s letter to the Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and State Board of Education was sparse in details about what he considered inappropriate but he cited the graphic novel Gender Queer: a Memoir<\/em><\/a> by Maia Kobabe, and In the Dream House<\/em><\/a> by Carmen Maria Machado.<\/p>\n

\u2014Signed<\/a> a bill into law that bans transgender students from playing on public school sports teams that align with their gender identity. Previously student athletes had been required to play on teams that aligned with the sex listed on their birth certificates, but they could obtain court orders allowing them to change the gender markers and participate in interscholastic athletics. Due to the new law that option is no longer available.<\/p>\n

\u2014Took down a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services web page<\/a> that offered resources to LGBTQ youth including information to children in the foster care system, a suicide prevention hotline, LGBTQ legal services, and questions about defining gender and sexual identity. The removal by the department followed a complaint<\/a> by a challenger to Abbott in the GOP primary. THE DFPS commissioner and council are appointed by the governor.<\/p>\n

\u2014Issued a recommendation to the Texas state Board of Social Work Examiners that they remove protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. Following that recommendation, and without an opportunity for public comment, the board voted to adopt the recommendation and consequently Texas social workers can now turn away LGBTQ clients<\/a> and those with a disability. \u201cThere is always a real possibility that trans Texans specifically could be turned away or dissuaded from accessing the medical resources they need. At a time when many in our community require services to make it through an isolating pandemic, attempting to grant providers a license to discriminate is abhorrent,\u201d said Emmett Schelling<\/a>, Executive Director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":435,"featured_media":506377,"template":"","categories":[138754],"tags":[],"region":[138608],"hashtag":[138636,138632],"class_list":{"0":"post-506376","1":"gap","2":"type-gap","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"category-gaps","7":"region-texas","8":"hashtag-anti-transgender","9":"hashtag-politics"},"aioseo_notices":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t