Members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team took their progressive politics onto the field Wednesday against efforts by Texas officials to rein in rampant gender transition procedures that Republican state officials have called a form of child abuse.
Wristbands reading “Protect Trans Kids” were worn by players including forward Catarina Macario, who showed it off after scoring a goal on the way to Team USA’s 5-0 win over Iceland in the SheBelieves Cup, according to ESPN. The game was played in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas.
Macario noted that the women’s team, which has indulged in national anthem protests in the past, wanted to make its mark with yet another protest.
“With the platform we have, we really wanted to show why this team is different and why we do things that are much bigger than just the game,” Macario said.
The wristband protest was supported by team captain Becky Sauerbrunn and players Kristie Mewis, Margaret Purce, and Andi Sullivan as well as Megan Rapinoe, who is not currently on the team’s roster.
Cat Macario said the idea for the “protect trans kids” wristbands came from Megan Rapinoe (who is not on the current roster)
— Seth Vertelney (@svertelney) February 24, 2022
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services ordering the agency to investigate children impacted by “abusive gender-transitioning procedures,” according to a statement on the governor’s office website.
Abbott’s letter noted that “it is already against the law to subject Texas children to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning, including 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.”
“Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is responsible for protecting children from abuse, I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas,” the letter stated.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki attacked Texas.
“LGBTQI+ students are already vulnerable to bullying and violence just for being themselves,” Psaki said, according to Fox News. “This isn’t an isolated action, as evidenced by multiple states pursuing this. We’re seeing Republican leaders take actions to regulate what students can or cannot read, what they can or cannot learn and, most troubling, who they can or cannot be.”
Best way to respond to the press secretary is with this warning from her Creator: “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and… https://t.co/CYHD1F807S
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) February 24, 2022
Abbott’s action followed an opinion released by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was asked by Republican state Rep. Matt Krause whether a wide range of procedures for transgender youth could be considered child abuse.
Paxton’s response listed several types of medical procedures and practices, such as unnecessary hysterectomies or prescription of “puberty-blocking drugs,” and stated that “each of the ‘sex change’ procedures and treatments enumerated above, when performed on children, can legally constitute child abuse under several provisions of chapter 261 of the Texas Family Code.”
Texas Attorney General: “There is no doubt” that gender transition of minors is ‘child abuse’ under Texas law.
The Texas Dept. of Family & Protective Services will enforce this ruling and investigate & refer for prosecution any such abuse.https://t.co/hZQguNOiye
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 22, 2022
“The medical evidence does not demonstrate that children and adolescents benefit from engaging in these irreversible sterilization procedures. The prevalence of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents has never been estimated, and there is no scientific consensus that these sterilizing procedures and treatments even serve to benefit minor children dealing with gender dysphoria,” Paxton wrote.
“There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton said in a statement.
“The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly. I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans,” he said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
