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In the ongoing legal battle between 8-year-old James Younger’s parents, a Dallas judge has awarded the boy’s mother, Dr. Anne Georgulas, sole decision-making power regarding her son’s health care and schooling.
Judge Mary Brown’s ruling effectively reverses a previous ruling that had established a joint managing conservatorship with James’ father, Jeffrey Younger.
Georgulas now has the authority to enroll James in school as a girl named “Luna” and have him undergo transgender medical procedures.
Although a formal hearing was scheduled for Aug. 11, Brown rendered her decision Aug. 10. No explanation was given as to why the judge issued the ruling without a hearing.
Younger has been ordered by the court to pay $250 an hour for trans-affirming counseling sessions, which he had previously objected to on grounds he was not permitted to help select his son’s counselors.
Younger is under a court-imposed gag order and is not permitted to speak to media, but some of his friends and supporters have set up a “Save James” Facebook page to bring awareness to the case.
According to Save James, counseling will cost Younger an estimated $5,000 a month, in addition to a $10,000 retainer required by the counselor.
The case received national attention last fall when a jury ruled 11-1 that Georgulas should have sole conservatorship over James and his twin brother, Jude.
#SaveJames and #SaveJamesYounger hashtags began going viral on social media, and prompted Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to comment on the case.
Cruz called the ruling “horrifying and tragic.”
“For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse,” he posted on Twitter in October.
Last year, Judge Kim Cooks overturned that verdict, giving both parents equal say in James’ medical treatment. According to LifeSiteNews, Cooks “found that Georgulas was overly affirming in instances when James supposedly showed a desire to be a girl, including taking him to LGBTQ parades, buying him dresses and fake hair and enrolling him in kindergarten as a ‘girl’ named ‘Luna.’”
In response, Georgulas appealed, filing motions to have the decision overturned and Cooks recused from the case.
In December 2019, another hearing was held. Cooks was replaced with Judge Brown, who decided to uphold joint custody in January 2020.
The ruling was again appealed by Georgulas in July.
In light of Brown’s most recent ruling, James will most likely return to school as “Luna” despite the fact that he reportedly chose to attend school as a boy, under his given name, at the start of the school year last fall.
Save James says a special evidentiary hearing is scheduled for September, although a specific date and time has not yet been announced.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared at Decision Magazine.
