The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services announced Wednesday that sexual reassignment surgery for children is “child abuse.”
“Genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse,” Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Jaime Masters said in a press release. “This surgical procedure physically alters a child’s genitalia for nonmedical purposes potentially inflicting irreversible harm to children’s bodies.”
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The release was issued in response to an Aug. 6 inquiry by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and said that sex reassignment surgery could cause a threat of harm from physical injury.
Masters’s determination and its enforcement would be “effective immediately,” Abbott said Thursday.
“Genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse…” – Commissioner Jaime Masters, @TexasDFPS
The determination and subsequent enforcement of Commissioner Masters’ conclusions are effective immediately.https://t.co/EVLp44zi41 pic.twitter.com/HSTc9T9hQA
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 11, 2021
The Texas law prohibits female “genital mutilation” for girls younger than 18, but it says nothing about prohibiting male “genital mutilation” for someone of that age.
Any surgical procedure for gender reassignment that would sterilize a child should constitute child abuse, the governor told the Department of Family and Protective Services.
These operations include hysterectomies or penectomies.
Any person who feels a sexual reassignment procedure has been conducted on a child must file a report with the Department of Family and Protective Services, Masters said.
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“Pursuant to Texas Family Code, Section 261.101, a professional who has ’cause to believe’ a child has been or may be abused must report that belief to DFPS within 48-hours after the professional first suspects the abuse. A professional may not delegate to or rely on another person to make the report. Professionals include teachers, nurses, doctors, day-care employees and others who are either licensed by the state or work in a facility licensed or operated by the state and who have direct contact with children through their job,” she added.
If one fails to do so, they will incur a class A misdemeanor and face possible jail time.
