A judge in the 255th District Family Court of Texas has ruled that a father should have a say in his son's medical treatments in the case of James Younger, a seven-year-old boy whose mother believes he is a transgender female named "Luna."
The custody battle over the 7-year-old twin boys drew national attention after a staunch disagreement between Jeffrey Younger, who believes his son is a happy boy, and his ex-wife, pediatrician Dr. Anne Georgulas, who believes James is a girl who should be infused with puberty-blocking drugs in the next few years. Video shows a three-year-old James explaining to his father that his mother had informed him that he was a little girl and not a little boy.
An initial custody arrangement proposed by Georgulas required that Younger affirm James' identity as "Luna" and that he not be allowed to expose either child to any people that would not use female pronouns and refer to the child by his female name. In response to his ex-wife's proposal, Younger requested a jury trial in a petition for sole custody of James and his brother Jude. On Monday, however, the jury ruled against him 11-1, suggesting that the boys should be under the sole custody of one person but that the person should not be Jeffrey Younger.
A recommendation from Dallas Rainbow Therapy, which was given as testimony in Georgulas' defense, states that James is a female and should receive chemically altering medication that will eventually sterilize him and pave the way for genital removal, a procedure he could receive as young as 15-years-old. The verdict on Thursday will make it significantly more difficult for Georgulas to proceed with puberty blockers in the time frame she has laid out, as long as her ex-husband protests.
Younger still has the option to appeal the jury verdict on Monday and seek sole custody of his sons, but the costly process could take time and possibly not legally prevent the first round of sexually altering medication from being administered to James. Having a say in his son's life and medical statements provide relief to that deadline.
Republican Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott claimed on Wednesday night that the Texas attorney general and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services were investigating the case of James Younger while Sen. Ted Cruz decried the jury decision as "horrifying & tragic" and Georgulas' plans were tantamount to "child abuse."
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