“The law is clear that these radical procedures are illegal and in no world should Texans’ tax dollars be used to permanently harm children,” Paxton said.
In a legal opinion issued on Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that under existing Texas law, it is illegal for "mental health care providers" in the state to transition children.
"Any radical facilitating the ‘transitioning’ of our kids is committing child abuse," Paxton said in a statement. "The law is clear that these radical procedures are illegal and in no world should Texans’ tax dollars be used to permanently harm children. This opinion should send a clear warning there will be consequences for any medical professional, whether a doctor or a therapist, who is illegally ‘transitioning’ Texas kids."
https://twitter.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2028488601991045587?s=20
The legal opinion stated that under SB 14, which went into effect in September, the term health care provider "unambiguously encompasses the professions regulated by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Any licensee that facilitates the provision of unlawful procedures or treatments that aim to transition a child’s sex are thus forbidden from receiving public money in support of those efforts and, separately, risk revocation of their licenses to practice."
The declaration was delivered to TBHEC Executive Director Darrel Spinks, who had requested clarification regarding the law to mental health care providers licensed by the council. Paxton’s legal opinion stated, "First, you ask whether the definition of 'health care provider,' which was codified in subsection 161.701(2) of the Health and Safety Code, encompasses the Council’s licensees. If so, you also ask 'how' the licensees 'are impacted by S.B. 14' in relation to 'mental health care services not specifically enumerated.' We answer both questions in turn."
Paxton wrote that there could not be "any question that the Council’s licensees—whomyou refer to as 'mental health care providers,'—deal in health care." He wrote that the Texas framework governing "Health Processions" includes "an entire subtitle for 'Psychology and Counseling,' which individually regulates the services of 'Psychologists,' 'Marriage and Family Therapists,' 'Licensed Professional Counselors,' as well as 'Social Workers.'" He noted that many of those professions are included under the definition of "health care professionals" in other laws.
He wrote that "the multidisciplinary path to medically transitioning children often starts with mental 'health care.' We received several briefs highlighting that mental health professionals serve as the 'clinical gatekeepers whose assessments and recommendations initiate the interventions' prohibited by SB 14."
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