(Texas Scorecard) – The Texas House took a step toward reinforcing the role of parents in their children’s mental health care, adopting an amendment that ensures state-funded services cannot be used to promote social gender transitions in minors in certain rural hospitals.
The amendment, offered by State Rep. Steve Toth (R–Conroe), was added to House Bill 18 by State Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R–New Boston). HB 18 is aimed at strengthening rural hospitals and expanding access to care across underserved areas of the state.
Toth said the amendment was necessary to address what he called a growing trend of mental health providers “alienating children from their families.”
“Instead of promoting healing and connection, some providers are creating barriers that isolate children from their parents, severing critical emotional ties,” Toth said. “This is not therapeutic. It’s dangerous. It’s psychologically destructive.”
The amendment prevents hospitals that receive the funding from offering any “mental health care service to a child younger than 18 years of age that affirms a child’s perception of a child’s gender that is inconsistent with the child’s biological sex.”
Toth emphasized that the goal is not to stigmatize children, but to protect them from being led away from the people who love them most.
“Family cohesion is the greatest protection a child has against suicide,” he said. “Parents must be part of the therapeutic process, otherwise the work done in session vanishes.”
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) also spoke in support, calling the amendment a critical safeguard. “This closes one of the loopholes on the bill we passed last session,” Tinderholt said. “It ensures that mental health dollars aren’t being used to socially transition children without parental input.”
Indeed, legislation passed in 2023 to prevent gender mutilation of minors did not address the psychological or social transitioning element.
Tinderholt encouraged bipartisan support, saying, “My hope is that not only Republicans, but a lot of Democrats would consider voting on this as well.”
A point of order on the amendment was raised by Rep. Joe Moody (D–El Paso) but later withdrawn, leading to a more than hour-long recess. Afterward, VanDeaver allowed the vote to proceed, stating, “This is a very narrow amendment and I am going to leave it to the will of the House.”
The amendment passed with a party-line 88-55 vote.