Texas Attorney General Sues 2 Texas Physicians for Providing Gender-Affirming Care to Minors
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is actively enforcing Senate Bill 14 (SB 14) which prohibits physicians and other licensed medical professionals in the state of Texas from providing gender-affirming care to patients under 18 years of age. At least two lawsuits have now been filed against physicians accusing them of violating state law by providing gender-affirming care to minors.
SB14 took effect on September 1, 2023, and prohibits medical providers in the state of Texas from providing treatments for gender dysphoria to minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and transition surgeries, and health plans are not permitted to provide coverage for those treatments. The law does not extend to mental health care. Under SB14, any medical professional who provides care in violation of state law can face financial penalties and have their medical license revoked by the Texas Medical Board.
Last month, Attorney General Paxton filed two lawsuits against physicians alleged to have violated state law by prescribing and distributing puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors to treat gender dysphoria. The first lawsuit was filed on October 17, 2024, against UT Southwestern Medical Center May Chi Lau, MD, a specialist in adolescent medicine. She was accused of using false diagnoses and billing codes to hide prescriptions for gender dysphoria and providing care illegal under state law to 21 patients under 18 years of age between October 2023 and August 2024.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Hector Granados, MD, who is alleged to have continued to provide puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minor patients for gender dysphoria after SB 14 took effect, including as recently as August 19, 2024, with patients filling prescriptions as recently as October 12, 2024. In both lawsuits, the Texas Attorney General seeks financial penalties up to $10,000 per violation and also claims entitlement to monetary relief greater than $1,000,000, including civil penalties, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, restitution, and costs. The lawsuits also seek revocation of the physicians’ medical licenses.
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“Texas passed a law to protect children from these dangerous unscientific medical interventions that have irreversible and damaging effects,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Doctors who continue to provide these harmful ‘gender transition’ drugs and treatments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” The Office of the Attorney General has also launched investigations of healthcare providers outside of Texas for providing treatment for gender dysphoria to Texas minors, although the jurisdiction and investigative authority of the Office of the Attorney General is being challenged in court, including by Seattle Children’s Hospital. which maintains that complying with any investigative request violates federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA.
