Texas judge rules father of ‘transgender’ 7yo will have rights, possibly halting puberty blocker treatment
The bitterly divorced parents of James Younger, 7, will have joint medical decision-making powers, a judge ruled, blocking the mother’s attempts to pursue irreversible “gender affirmation” treatments to transition him into a girl.
Judge Kim Cooks of the 255th Family District Court ruled on Thursday that Jeff Younger will have equal rights in the matter with Anne Georgulas, who had previously been given sole custody and guardianship over James and his twin brother Jude.
Georgulas contended that James feels like a girl named “Luna” and wanted to pursue “affirmation” parenting – including puberty blocker treatment, as documents presented during the trial showed. Younger called this a “chemical castration” and campaigned to stop this, urging “watchful waiting” instead.
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This appears to roll back Monday’s jury decision to award sole conservatorship to Georgulas, which attracted national attention, with prominent conservative journalists and politicians mobilizing in Younger’s support.
Congressman Chip Roy (R-Texas-21) sent a letter about it to US Attorney General Bill Barr, the director of the National Institutes of Health, and the director of the National Drug Control Policy. Governor Greg Abbott said the state authorities were looking into the case as well.
According to the Texan, a local outlet that closely followed the trial – but was barred from the courtroom for the final verdict – Georgulas and her team of lawyers argued she was only pursuing a “social transition” for James. At one point, however, Younger’s lawyer produced medical records that showed James would be referred to a clinic for puberty suppression treatments – a “medical transition” – when he reached the age of eight or nine.
Dr. Benjamin Albritton, who appeared as a paid expert witness for Georgulas, told the court he had seen those notes before but did not include them in the final report to the court “because he did not think it seemed relevant,” according to the Texan.
Another witness for Georgulas, Rebekka Ouer of Dallas Rainbow Counseling, testified that “gender is in the brain” and if James thinks he is a girl, then he truly is one.
Younger and Georgulas married in 2010, and had twins in 2012 following an in-vitro fertilization treatment and a donor egg. Courts granted Georgulas an annulment of the marriage in 2016, after she claimed Younger had deceived her in the prenuptial agreement – something he denies. She also accused him of domestic violence, but he was acquitted last year.
Under the provisions of Cook’s verdict, Younger will have to shutter his blog ‘Save James,’ and will not be allowed to speak to the press about the case. It is unclear whether the same gag order applies to Georgulas.
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