The James Younger Case: Transgenderism and The State

By Hudson Crozier

Texas doctor, activist, and mother Anne Georgulas had her marriage with Jeff Younger annulled in 2016 over fraud accusations. Soon after, another conflict developed between them as she insisted that their nine-year-old son is a transgender girl and began raising him accordingly. Jeff has fought an uphill battle trying to stop her.

Mother, Anne Georgulas

According to the National Review, “Georgulas has asserted that James chose the name ‘Luna’ after expressing the desire to be a girl at a young age by showing a preference for female pronouns and Disney princesses.”

The Federalist reports that Georgulas filed a petition that would force her ex-husband to refer to their son as a female.

However, she and her legal team have argued for further state intervention on the grounds of other parental disputes, such as Jeff's blocking of their son's counseling process and late payments of child support, medical support, and interest. She claims her main concern is Jeff’s “parenting abilities.”

Father, Jeff Younger

Jeff Younger believes James is being manipulated into transgenderism by Georgulas. He claims to have “a video of James as a 3-year-old saying that ‘Mommy’ told him he was a girl.” He has also stated that “James chooses to present himself as a boy at his house, even though he keeps feminine clothes in his son’s closet as an option.”

Younger admitted to interfering with his son’s counseling sessions and explained he was kept from attending them. Due to their scheduling, they only occur during Georgula's visitation periods while James is under her sole supervision, which Younger's attorney argued is “quite unfair.”

Younger also claimed to be making his payments on time and that they were merely received and disbursed late by the attorney general’s office.

Outcome

The court has ruled in favor of James's mother on the grounds of the late payments.

Texas Judge Mary Brown (D) temporarily granted full custody of James to Georgulas, which includes exclusive control over his primary residence, counseling, medications, education, and extracurricular activities, allowing her to withhold all information from James’ father.

James and his brother Jude were barred from seeing their father without strict government supervision “necessary for the health and safety of the children.”

While this temporary restraining order frees Georgulas to continue raising James as she pleases, she remains unable to put him through any intensive transitioning procedures, such as puberty blockers or “gender reassignment surgery,” without the added consent of James’ father.

Publicity

The initial developments of the case sparked a nationwide controversy about the effects of transgenderism on children and their legal ramifications. While mainstream voices such as Vox have sympathized with “Luna's” mother and praised her resolve, movements such as the “Save James" FaceBook group consider him the helpless victim of an abusive and manipulative agenda.

Additionally, Texas Republicans attempted twice to make specific gender transition procedures illegal for those under 18, with both pieces of legislation failing to pass the House.

In direct response to the case, Governor Greg Abbott (R) motioned to investigate “whether genital mutilation of a child for purposes of gender transitioning through reassignment surgery constitutes child abuse.” Abbott’s request was granted, and such practices will now carry criminal penalties in the Lone Star State.

Sources: The Texan, Houston Chronicle

While it is safe to say that James was spared from “gender-affirming” treatment, the conflict casts a disturbing shadow. As transgenderism gains ground in our institutions, society’s most vulnerable hang in the balance.