Texas Officials Accuse Mother of Trans Daughter of Abuse

Homophobic Texas leaders have vowed to interfere in a mother's decision to allow her transgender daughter to transition.

Republican leaders in the state responded to a jury decision siding with Anne Georgulas allowing her child, Luna, who was assigned male at birth, to go to school in girls' clothes, against her father's wishes.

The mother sought a court order to require her ex-husband, Jeffrey Young, to refer to the child by her preferred name.

Georgulas also received a medical recommendation for the child "receive a full psychological assessment for gender dysphoria and potentially take hormone blockers," reports the Washington Examiner.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas accused the mother of child abuse.

"This is horrifying & tragic," Cruz wrote on Twitter. "For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse." But in reality, young trans people don't start on hormone blockers and or other medical treatments until puberty. For younger children, transitioning is generally a matter of outward appearance, along with use of their preferred names and pronouns.

Cruz linked to a story in the New York Post. Both the Post and Examiner articles referred to the deadname of the child, which is the name the father wants used, throughout coverage.

The disagreement between Younger and Georgulas has fueled a fierce custody dispute. But now a Dallas jury has refused the father sole custody of Luna and twin brother Jude, reports The Texan.

Judge Kim Cooks granted the parents joint managing conservatorship of the child, meaning decisions about medical and psychiatric treatment must be made together.

State officials in Texas say they may take action themselves to force decisions in a different direction.

"The matter of 7 year old James Younger is being looked into by the Texas Attorney General's Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services," tweeted Gov. Greg Abbott, who again used the child's birth name.

First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer sent a letter Thursday to the Department of Family and Protective Services saying the child is "in immediate and irrevocable danger," The Texas Tribune reports. Notably, Mateer's nomination for a federal judgeship was withdrawn by the White House in 2017 after it was revealed he had said transgender children were part of "Satan's plan."