WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday forcefully criticized a Texas effort to investigate the parents of children receiving gender-confirming treatment, calling the directive from Gov. Greg Abbott “cynical and dangerous” while vowing to support the families in question.
Biden’s remarks, issued in a statement, were paired with newly released guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which directed state child welfare agencies to support LGBTQI+ youth when they seek gender-affirming health care. And it arrived almost simultaneously with a Texas judge’s decision to block the state from investigating parents.
“This is government overreach at its worst,” Biden said in a statement. “Like so many anti-transgender attacks proliferating in states across the country, the governor’s actions callously threaten to harm children and their families just to score politics points.
“These actions are terrifying many families in Texas and beyond. And they must stop.”
Biden’s statement comes a day after the president singled out his support for transgender youth during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, and a day after a court filing alleged that Texas officials had opened an investigation into at least one family of a transgender child.
The president said Wednesday that parents who support their transgender child’s transition “should be applauded and supported, not threatened, investigated, or stigmatized.”
“Children, their parents, and their doctors should have the freedom to make the medical decisions that are best for each young person — without politicians getting in the way,” Biden said.
Abbott last week directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate the parents of children who receive treatment to change their gender, an order that ignited a firestorm of controversy in Texas and nationally.
Though the White House issued a statement last week condemning the Texas order, Biden’s comments Wednesday were the first time he directly addressed the directive.
In addition to the directives for state child welfare agencies, HHS on Wednesday also released guidance to health care workers saying they don’t have to disclose information regarding gender-affirming care while making clear that denials of health care based on gender identity are illegal.
“HHS will take immediate action if needed,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “I know that many youth and their supportive families are feeling scared and isolated because of these attacks. HHS is closely monitoring the situation in Texas, and will use every tool at our disposal to keep Texans safe.”
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