Texas Governor Greg Abbott orders state agencies to investigate gender-transitioning procedures as child abuse

Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate any reported instances of children undergoing "abusive" gender-transitioning procedures. The announcement comes days after the state's attorney general said that state law characterizes the procedures as child abuse. 

"To protect Texas children from abuse, DFPS and all other state agencies must follow the law," Abbott said in a letter sent to DFPS on Tuesday.

Under the directive, licensed professionals will be required to report "children who may be subject to such abuse." Such procedures include "reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen," the governor said.