A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that Jeff Younger is entitled to a say in his seven-year-old son James’s gender-transition process.
Judge Kim Cooks awarded Younger joint conservatorship over his son with mother Anne Georgulas, according to Life Site News.
Georgulas had previously insisted on pursuing James’s gender transition, and was backed by counselors and therapists who testified on her behalf that he is transgender.
A jury had previously ruled Younger could not prevent Georgulas from allowing their son to change genders.
Younger and Georgulas separated several years ago, and Georgulas retained exclusive rights and duties over the couple’s two children, while Younger was given limited custody.
Georgulas has stated that their seven-year-old son began to identify as a girl, asking for a girls’ toy from McDonald’s and wearing dresses. She was advised by an LGBT family therapist to begin “affirming” her son by calling him “Luna.” The boy’s pediatrician recommended he visit the GENecis clinic at Children’s Hospital Center, which offers hormone therapy and puberty suppression.
Younger had contended their son was happy to be a boy and that a gender transition would not be healthy for him, according to The Texan.
Texas governor Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that the state attorney general and Department of Family and Protective Services had commenced investigations into the case.
As part of Judge Cooks’s Thursday decision, Younger will be subject to a gag order regarding the case, which means Younger’s blog about his son will be shut down.