Over the past month, Texas restrictions have increased. This time, restrictions target adolescents, specifically transgender youth that live in Texas. 

Texas governors have been creating policies to work against transgender youth residing in the state. Governor Greg Abbott is attempting to have state authorities investigate parents of transgender children for signs of “child abuse.” According to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, this suspected “child abuse” would include medical procedures or medical care that allows youth to change their sexual orientation. Luckily, on March 11, 2022, a Texas judge blocked the policy, stating that the policy infringed on the rights under the state constitution. This, however, is only temporary. 

More often than not, this puts parents in awkward and difficult situations. Oftentimes parents are caught off guard by their children coming out and then bombarded with a list of regulations and laws enforced by the government—all while the parents are still in the process of supporting their child. This not only puts parents in hard situations but also their children. 

Transgender children already have to deal with the stress of wondering whether they are going to be accepted by their peers and family members when coming out. Furthermore, while parents are attempting to support their children through these transitions, they will then have to worry that they will be charged with child abuse. Creating extra levels of stress and making a non-political issue political is simply wrong. Children are being prohibited from being who they truly are and want to be. 

These medical procedures that allow children to change their bodies are a very controversial topic among older generations. Many believe that they are too young to understand the long-term effects of such treatments. Others, like teachers, counselors, etc., may encourage a student or kid to go through with what they believe is right for them and their own bodies. 

Governor Greg Abbott’s attempt at “investigating” these families may have backfired as he is receiving more backlash than ever from those who opposed his bill. Many are saying that these investigations would be a waste of time and that investigations of actual child abuse would be far more beneficial to the general public. 

The creation of such policies and laws has been stressful for much of the public. Along with this, creating political situations out of non-political subjects is unnecessary.