A Texas court has granted custody of a young child to the mother who supports medical transition in contrast to the wishes of the father.
Anne Georgulas and her ex-husband Jeff Younger disagree over treatment for their 8-year-old child, who has been at the center of a custody battle between the pair for several years.
Their child was born male but, according to Georgulas, identifies as female and already goes by a chosen name of "Luna".
Georgulas is in favour of medical transition, but Younger opposes this.
This week, the court said the child and twin brother Jude could stay with Georgulas.
The ruling gives Georgulas exclusive control over their primary place of residence, education, extracurricular activities, counselling and medical treatment with the exception of hormone suppression therapy, puberty blockers, or transgender reassignment surgery.
Younger has been granted only supervised visitation rights.
Judge Mary Brown, of the 301st Judicial District Court of Dallas County, said in a memorandum ruling, "The prior orders that Ms. Georgulas must notify Mr. Younger of doctor's, counseling, or mental health appointments, or extracurricular activities for the children are lifted.
"In an effort to ensure the emotional well-being and physical safety of the children, the court orders that all of Mr. Younger's possession periods shall be continuously supervised by Forensic Counseling Services 972.360.7437 at Mr. Younger's sole cost and expense."
