AUSTIN, Texas -- Pride Month has come to a close but LGBTQ+ state lawmakers say their fight for equality will continue during the next legislative session. One priority they will be pushing is granting same-sex teen couples the same legal protections as their opposite-sex peers. Some doctors say current law puts them in a dilemma by having to potentially report a relationship they deem appropriate.
The age of consent in Texas is 17 years old. But the state’s child indecency statute provides an affirmative defense protecting older teens in consensual relationships. They must also both be over 14 years old and within three years of age of each other. But those protections only apply to opposite-sex couples.
Rep. Mary Gonzalez, who represents the El Paso area, has repeatedly introduced legislation to change state law.
“I’m going to continue [to] bring it on every single session, because until we get this law passed, I want to make sure we're protecting our youth. We definitely want to take away all those barriers so that at least LGBT youth can have an equal and honest relationship with the people and the adults in their lives,” she said.
Gonzalez is also the chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, which was created in the last legislative session in hopes of demonstrating leadership on LGBTQ+ issues in the Texas Legislature.
“Just because you're dating doesn't mean it should be criminalized, right? And, and not only that, our LGBT youth specifically, especially, we know have higher rates of bullying, mental health, suicide issues that need to be addressed,” she said.
Geordi Cortez-Neavel grew up in Austin and was raised by physicians. The 26-year-old is following in their footsteps, heading off to medical school soon at Texas A&M University.
“I’m really interested in adolescent medicine - go figure, actually. It’s just something I’ve been really passionate about. There’s something about how like volatile teens are, but also how powerful. I think change that you can effect in their lives was really appealing to me,” Cortez-Neavel said.
His mother, Dr. Celia Neavel, is the director of the Center for Adolescent Health at the People’s Community Clinic in Austin. After Cortez-Neavel came out to his family as a teen, his doctor warned him about the Texas dating laws.
“It was like confusing as a teenager. You don't really understand why something that is supposedly natural to you, but also something that's really hard to like juggle and like discuss with your parents at that age, how that could be a reportable offense as well,” Cortez-Neavel said.
Dr. Neavel said current law in Texas puts doctors, social workers, and educators in a difficult position. She even has the backing of the Texas Medical Association, Travis County Medical Society, and Texas Pediatric Society to try to remove the language from the law. Last session, she testified in support of Rep. Gonzalez’s bill.
“It really has taken away a lot of health professionals’ rights to decide what is an abusive situation, so since I've been in Texas, the law has gotten narrower and narrower. It really defines sexuality in a very broad way, so I think that's very confusing about the ethical dilemma about following the law and the situation that may seem perfectly safe and appropriate,” Neavel said.
Some doctors fear because of such laws, teenagers might distrust the health care system and will not want to talk about issues going on in their lives or will not want to report abuse.
“Of course, the worry is that you're not going to be told when a situation is abusive that you do want to know about,” Dr. Neavel said.
“The last thing we need is to have teens kind of fear their own bodies and like fear their own health and fear repercussions,” Cortez-Neavel said.