The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the state attorney general’s office can request documents from the LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG as part of an investigation into whether doctors are prescribing gender-affirming treatments to minors in violation of state law.
The ruling overturns a lower court ruling that largely blocked requests for certain records by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.
Paxton was trying to identify himself. information Communications between PFLAG members and LGBTQ advocacy groups in Texas, particularly regarding those who may have consulted the group about accessing gender-affirming care for transgender children outside of Texas.
In 2023, Texas passed a regulation banning doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to minors. Shortly after, PFLAG filed an affidavit in a lawsuit challenging these restrictions, with the executive director saying that families with transgender children are discussing “contingency plans” and “alternatives for maintaining care in Texas.”
Paxton argued that despite the ban, his office needs access to communications between PFLAG and parents of transgender youth seeking care. He said this information could help families identify the doctors they are referred to and determine whether those doctors are violating state law or committing insurance fraud by prescribing treatments under other medical diagnoses.
Under Texas law, puberty blockers and hormone therapy can still be prescribed to minors for hormonal imbalances and other conditions, but not for gender reassignment.
PFLAG sued to block the request, and a Travis County judge sided with the group, limiting the records that would have to be turned over. Paxton appealed to the state Supreme Court.
On March 13, the Texas Supreme Court said the lower court had unreasonably obstructed the state’s investigation, noting that under state law the attorney general does not have to prove someone has relevant documents before requesting them.
The court said PFLAG must submit several categories of documents, including “contingency plans” and communications regarding alternative care options, referrals and lists of health care providers who treat transgender youth in Texas, communications involving health care providers mentioned in the investigation, and records related to the executive director’s affidavit. However, groups are not required to create internal documents that deviate from these standards.
The judges also noted that Paxton’s office “agreed to allow redactions to preserve the anonymity” of the families and children named in the document. State law also limits how such materials can be disclosed.
The case now returns to Travis County District Court for further proceedings.
Mr. Paxton’s office has already took action Lawsuits against doctors accused of violating the state’s ban on gender-affirming treatments for minors.
2024, Paxton sued Dr. May Lau, a pediatrician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, allegedly prescribed hormone drugs to at least 21 patients between the ages of 14 and 17, implanted a puberty-blocking device in a 15-year-old boy, and fraudulently claimed insurance for an endocrine disorder instead of gender dysphoria.
Lau voluntarily surrendered his medical license last year. In a statement to texas tribuneshe moved her practice to Oregon and said she no longer needed a Texas license.
In November 2024, Paxton sued Dr. M. Brett Cooper, an employee of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center who has admitting privileges at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. blame He is accused of prescribing testosterone to 15 transgender minors between the ages of 15 and 17, and the case is scheduled for trial in May.
Paxton also sued Hector Granados, an El Paso endocrinologist, for providing gender-affirming care to a minor. The suit came later dropped Granados said he had stopped providing such care before the 2023 ban took effect.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
