Chelsea Clinton expressed her strong opposition to a new policy established by Texas’ Republican governor, Gregg Abbott, and attorney general, Ken Paxton, that classifies gender-affirming care for trans kids as potential “child abuse” that must be investigated by the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services.
Appearing at the South by Southwest Education Conference in Austin on Thursday, Clinton said “I just have to say how distressing it is that the governor and attorney general of Texas… are trying to prevent trans kids from receiving the gender-affirming care that the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and that parents know is important to their child’s well-being.”
The mother of three called the new policy a fundamental “violation of human rights.” She also provided our quote of the day:
So while the governor and attorney general may posture that they are preventing child abuse, they’re actually participating in it and perpetuating it. It is violence and it is wrong.
Chelsea Clinton
Clinton lauded organizations that are “working to help support and protect trans kids” with the medical and mental health care they deserve. She underscored the work of the Trevor Protect and the Texas branch of the ACLU.
Last week, a Texas judge temporarily suspended a child abuse investigation into the parents of a trans girl, but the matter is far from settled. A court hearing related to the case is scheduled for later Friday.
Clinton is far from the only prominent voice criticizing the anti-trans policy. The New York Times reports:
More than 60 major businesses, including household names in technology and retail, have signed onto a new advertising campaign in Texas protesting a move by the state’s governor to label as “child abuse” medical treatments that are widely considered to be the standard of care for transgender teenagers.
In digital ads and a full-page advertisement in Friday’s Dallas Morning News, the businesses assailed a Feb. 22 directive by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, requiring teachers and medical professionals to report to child protective services parents who are helping their children get such treatments as puberty-suppressing drugs and hormones.
“The signatories include old blue-chip brands like Johnson & Johnson and Macy’s as well as tech giants like Apple, Meta and Google, the apparel makers Levi Strauss & Co. and Gap Inc., and retailers like Ikea and REI,” notes The Times.
