Jeff Younger custody battle

The Jeff Younger custody battle was a highly publicized custody dispute between Texas parents Jeff Younger and Anne Georgulas over their twin children. Litigated between 2018 and 2022, the case attracted national attention as Georgulas claimed one of the children, born as a boy, was a transgender girl, which Younger denied. Custody was ultimately granted to Georgulas, with the dispute reaching the Texas Supreme Court.

Background

Younger, a resident of Flower Mound, Texas, and Georgulas, a pediatrician from Coppell, Texas, had their marriage annulled in 2016. The parents had twins, both born in 2012 as boys, and disagreed about one of their twins' gender identity. According to Younger, their child named Luna (born James), first expressed a desire to be a girl at three years old. While the parents had joint custody, Luna was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the age of five, upon which Georgulas allowed the child to paint their nails and wear dresses. Younger claimed that Luna presented as a boy when they spent time with him, and that Georgulas was pressuring the child to identify as a girl and use female gender pronouns.

In August 2018, Georgulas filed a restraining order against Younger that would prevent him from entering the twins' school or telling other parents that the gender of Luna was not female. She also sought to alter the terms of their joint custody agreement to require Younger to call the child "Luna", use female pronouns, and prevent Luna from spending time with those who did otherwise. Georgulas attempted to enrol Luna in gender transition therapy, though the clinic did not accept Luna as a client following Younger's objections. In her lawsuit, Georgulas alleged that Younger had engaged in "emotionally abusive" behavior in response to Luna's gender identity.

In response, Younger petitioned for full custody of the twins, calling Georgulas' actions "tampering with the sexual identity of a vulnerable boy", and stating that Georgulas would "chemically castrate" Luna when they were old enough to transition. Court transcripts did not show that Georgulas was immediately planning such a procedure. In support of his case, Younger launched a #ProtectJamesYounger internet campaign that gained the support of state Republican politicians such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw. Per Georgulas' attorneys, the publicity led to threats, harassment and vandalism against her by strangers.

Initial rulings

On October 22, 2019, a jury ruled 11–1 giving Georgulas custody and full authority over Luna's medical care. On October 24, Dallas County District Judge Kim Cooks vacated the jury's decision and granted Younger and Georgulas joint custody over the twins, then seven years old. Cooks ordered that any medical decisions for the twins be made by both parents in agreement. She criticized both parents in her ruling; Georgulas for admitting that she may have "over-affirmed" Luna's female identity, and Younger for his efforts to raise donations and publicity from the case.

Following the initial jury ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Texas Attorney General’s Office were "looking into" the dispute. In a letter to the state's child welfare agency, Texas First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer asserted Luna was "in immediate and irrevocable danger" from the prospect of transitioning at such a young age. Cooks' decision was criticized by LGBT advocates, with Gillian Branstetter of the National Center for Transgender Equality stating it was a "serious disservice" to "give any incentive for a parent to reject their child for who they are".

Further developments

After Cooks' ruling, Georgulas filed a motion asking the court to conform to the jury's original ruling. On January 29, 2020, Dallas District Court Judge Mary Brown ruled that joint custody would remain in place. However, on August 3, 2021, Brown awarded full custody of the twins to Georgulas, ruling that Younger "failed to timely make the payments of child support, medical support and interest as ordered". Georgulas' legal team claimed that Younger, in addition to paying child support late, had refused to carry out court orders including required counseling and educational decisions, while Younger argued he had made payments on time and they had just been disbursed late. According to the ruling, both parents still had to consent to any hormone therapy, puberty blockers or gender-affirming surgery for Luna.

On November 23, 2021, Younger filed to run for the Texas House of Representatives in District 63 as a Republican. He sought to criminalize gender reassignment for children as part of his campaign. Younger advanced to the primary runoff, but lost to Ben Bumgarner.

In February 2022, Governor Greg Abbott issued an order to investigate parents in Texas for child abuse if they provided certain medical treatments to their transgender children, which The New York Times noted Younger's case had "paved the way for".

On December 16, 2022, after Georgulas had moved with the twins to California, Younger filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court seeking to return the children to Texas. California had recently passed a law preventing the enforcement of orders from other states that would remove a child from their parent based on that parent providing gender-affirming care. The Supreme Court dismissed Younger's petition on December 30, with Justices Jimmy Blacklock and Evan Young writing that the court "cannot intervene based on tenuous speculation about what other courts might do in the future". The justices noted that Georgulas still required Younger's permission to approve medical transition therapy for Luna, and that Younger would be entitled to an immediate appeal if Georgulas initiated such procedures. Georgulas had indicated to the court that she did not intend to medically transition Luna. In response to the ruling, Younger proclaimed Texas to be "an empire of child abuse, led by Texas judges".