Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American attorney who has served as the 48th governor of Texas since January 20, 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Abbott previously served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015. He is the third governor of any U.S. state to permanently use a wheelchair. He is also the first disabled governor in Texas history.
directive from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in conjunction with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Paxton said that certain gender affirmation procedures "when performed on children, can legally constitute child abuse under several provisions of...the Texas Family Code."Paxton added that the treatments could cause "mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child's growth, development, or psychological functioning."The attorney general had written the directive in response to an inquiry from the Texas House of Representatives which asked if certain "medical and chemical procedures on children" could fall under the category of child abuse.
The House's inquiry came after the Texas legislature failed to pass a law that would have criminalized these types of treatments.The investigations were opened despite district attorneys in five of Texas' largest counties releasing a letter condemning Paxton's directive.