In February 2022, Greg Abbott directed the Texas child welfare agency to investigate parents who obtained certain gender-affirming medical care for their transgender children, and the agency opened child-abuse investigations of at least nine families. In June 2023 he signed Senate Bill 14, banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors; clinics closed and doctors left Texas, and some families fled the state.
In January 2025 Abbott told every state agency to recognize only two sexes and to disregard court orders changing the sex on Texans' birth certificates and driver's licenses, and in June 2025 he signed a law that makes state records use the sex recorded at birth.
Greg Abbott's Orders and Laws Targeting Transgender Texans
- Abbott Ordered Child-Abuse Investigations of Parents of Transgender Teens in 2022. On February 22, 2022, Greg Abbott wrote to the commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, "I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation" of any reported instances of what he called abusive procedures for gender transitioning, after a nonbinding opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton equated that care with child abuse. Child-abuse investigators then opened cases against at least nine sets of parents of transgender children. On May 13, 2022, the Texas Supreme Court said neither Abbott nor Paxton had grounds to direct the agency, but it lifted the statewide injunction on procedural grounds, so the investigations could resume, FOX 7 Austin reported. In San Antonio, the only doctor then providing this care to transgender youth stopped after Abbott used the agency to investigate families, an advocate told the Texas Tribune.
- Abbott Signed the 2023 Ban on Puberty Blockers and Hormone Therapy for Transgender Minors. On June 2, 2023, Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14, which bars Texas doctors from giving transgender minors puberty blockers or hormone therapy; Texas has banned this care for young people since 2023, KFF reported. Clinics closed and some doctors stopped providing the care or left Texas, the Texas Tribune reported in July 2023; Dr. Ximena Lopez, who had provided this care to transgender youth, said she was leaving Texas because staying had become "unbearable," and Texas Health Action, a nonprofit with clinics in three cities, told the Tribune that many patients, including adults, lost access to care as providers left.
- Abbott Ordered Agencies to Ignore Gender Changes on Texas IDs, Then Signed a Law Requiring Sex at Birth on State Records. On January 30, 2025, Greg Abbott told the heads of all Texas agencies that the state recognizes "only two sexes" and that Travis County court orders to change the sex on birth certificates and driver's licenses were not grounded in state law. On June 20, 2025 he signed House Bill 229, under which state records must list each Texan by the sex assigned at birth. For decades, Texas agencies had updated these documents when a person presented a certified court order, the Texas Tribune reported; a Lambda Legal lawyer said the change will leave transgender Texans with mismatched documents, so that a person who lives as a man but carries a license marked female has to out himself every time he shows identification.
What Greg Abbott's Record Means for Transgender Texans and Their Families
- More than 120,000 transgender Texans face identity documents that do not match. More than 120,000 Texans identify as transgender, and under Greg Abbott's order and law their state records must list the sex assigned at birth, even for those who obtained court orders to change it, the Texas Tribune reported.
- Families of transgender children have left Texas to keep their care. Families of transgender youth had already fled Texas by mid-2023, and those who stayed must travel out of state or find treatment elsewhere, the Texas Tribune reported.
Frequently Asked Questions About Greg Abbott on LGBTQ rights
What is Greg Abbott's record on LGBTQ rights under Trump?
Greg Abbott ordered child-abuse investigations of parents of transgender teens in 2022 and signed the 2023 ban on transition care for minors in Texas. In January 2025 Abbott told state agencies to recognize only two sexes and ignore court-ordered changes to IDs, and that June he made it state law that records list every Texan by sex at birth.
Did Greg Abbott order child abuse investigations of parents of transgender kids?
Yes. Greg Abbott's February 22, 2022 letter directed the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate gender-affirming medical care for minors, and the agency opened investigations of at least nine families. The Texas Supreme Court later said he had no grounds to direct the agency, but it let the investigations resume.
What did Greg Abbott's 2025 sex-definition law change for transgender Texans?
Greg Abbott's House Bill 229 requires Texas to record each person's sex as assigned at birth. CBS Austin reported that it writes into law an opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton telling agencies to ignore court orders on birth certificates and driver's licenses. Opponents called it an attack on transgender, nonbinary and intersex Texans.
Last updated: 2026-10-26