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Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB1106, excluding refusal to affirm a child's gender identity from the state's child-abuse definition

On June 20, 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB1106, which amends the Texas Family Code so that a parent's refusal to affirm a child's gender identity or sexual orientation — including withholding gender-affirming care or declining to use a child's chosen name or pronouns — does not constitute child abuse or neglect. The law, passed by the 89th Legislature, took effect September 1, 2025. It removes a category of parental conduct from the reach of Child Protective Services intervention.

Jurisdiction
Texas
Location
Austin, Texas

Abuses documented

Actors

On June 20, 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1106, enacted by the 89th Legislature, amending the Texas Family Code's definitions of child abuse and neglect. Under the law, a parent's or guardian's refusal to affirm a child's gender identity or sexual orientation — including declining to provide or consent to gender-affirming medical care, or refusing to use a child's chosen name or pronouns — does not by itself constitute abuse or neglect. The statute took effect September 1, 2025.

The measure removes such parental conduct from the grounds on which the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Child Protective Services may intervene. LGBTQ advocacy and civil-rights organizations, including Equality Texas and the Texas Freedom Network, said the change strips transgender and nonbinary minors of child-welfare protection against familial rejection, foreclosing state intervention even where that rejection is linked to documented psychological harm.

Why we recorded this

State child-welfare law is meant to protect every child from abuse and neglect on equal terms. HB1106 carves parental rejection tied to a child's gender identity or sexual orientation out of the statutory definitions of abuse and neglect, barring Child Protective Services from intervening on that basis even where the rejection causes documented harm. Singling out transgender and nonbinary youth for reduced protection under the child-welfare system erodes the principle that the state's duty to shield children from harm applies regardless of who they are.

Sources

  1. HB 1106 Bill Analysis (89R) — Texas Legislature Online primary accessed July 14, 2026
  2. Texas HB1106 (2025) — bill record — LegiScan secondary accessed July 14, 2026
  3. Here are the new Texas laws that will affect trans and LGBTQ+ people — The Texas Tribune secondary accessed July 14, 2026
  4. Texas Governor Abbott Signs HB 1106 Into Law — Texas Freedom Network secondary accessed July 14, 2026

See also