Transgender Texans have become an ever-more popular target for right-wingers in recent years, including right-wing legislators in Austin who tried — and failed — in 2017 to pass anti-trans “bathroom bills” and who this year succeeded in passing bills prohibiting trans youth from playing sports on gendered teams.
Their efforts at banning gender-affirming health care for trans youth failed in the legislature this year. But transphobic extremists are working to ban effectively ban such health care by targeting health care providers and clinics that provide such care with protests and threats and labeling gender-affirming health care for young people as “child abuse.” It appears their strategy is working.