TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County District Court Judge Jan Soifer issued another temporary injunction Friday in a lawsuit brought by PFLAG against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In the lawsuit, PFLAG represents three Texas families who were investigated by the Texas Department of Families and Human Services after Paxton issued an opinion in February, which equated gender-affirming care for transgender children with child abuse.
The temporary injunction protects the Voe and Roe families (pseudonyms used in the lawsuit) from any DFPS investigations based on their children’s gender.
KXAN has reached out to Paxton’s office for comment. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
“Plaintiffs VOE and ROE state a valid cause of action against Commissioner Masters and DFPS and have a probable right to the declaratory and permanent injunctive relief they seek,” reads Soifer’s ruling. “For the reasons detailed in Plaintiffs’ Application and accompanying evidence, there is a substantial likelihood that Plaintiffs will prevail after a trial on the merits.”
The injunction issued Friday does not cover the third family represented by PFLAG, the Briggle Family; however, the application for injunction was not denied and “remains under advisement.”
“The DFPS Rule was adopted without following the necessary procedures under the APA, is contrary to DFPS’s enabling statute, is beyond the authority provided to the Commissioner and DFPS, and is otherwise contrary to law, as alleged in Plaintiffs’ Petition,” the ruling reads.
Lambda Legal, ACLU of Texas, and Baker Botts LLP, who provided legal counsel for PFLAG, issued the following statement after the ruling:
“We are gratified that the Court reiterated that the DFPS rule is unlawful and changed the status quo for Texas transgender youth and their families. The Court recognized yet again that being subjected to an unlawful and unwarranted investigation causes irreparable harm for these families who are doing nothing more than caring for and affirming their children and seeking the best course of care for them in consultation with their medical providers. We are confident that the Court will continue to recognize those harms as it considers the injunction we have requested for PFLAG families, including the Briggles.”
The case will go before Travis County District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum for a trial on Dec. 5.
