What is gender-affirming medical care for transgender children? Here's what you need to know. [View all]

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The legal fight comes months after Texas lawmakers failed to pass legislation that sought broader bans on transition-related medical care for transgender kids, including gender-affirming care that is widely accepted by leading health care groups.

Medical experts say Republican lawmakers’ rhetoric falsely claims that doctors and parents are allowing children to go through irreversible medical treatments.

Leading health care organizations in Texas — including the Texas Medical Association, Texas Counseling Association and Texas Pediatric Society — say gender-affirming care is the best way to provide care to transgender children. They’re not alone: the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and others agree — and have for years.

Here’s what you need to know about gender-affirming care, which lies at the heart of the brewing legal and political battles in Texas.

This article contains a great discussion of the types of care that are being attacked by Greg and Ken Paxton