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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a Dallas pediatrician, accusing her of violating state law by providing gender-transitioning treatments to at least 21 teenage patients.

Thursday’s filing is Paxton’s first attempt at suing a doctor by leveraging Senate Bill 14, a 2023 legislation that prohibits physicians and health care providers from prescribing hormones to minors to transition from their biological sex.

The lawsuit accuses May Lau, an adolescent medicine physician and associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, of violating Senate Bill 14 by prescribing testosterone to at least 21 patients between the ages of 14 and 17 to transition their biological gender or affirm their gender identity.

“Texas passed a law to protect children from these dangerous unscientific medical interventions that have irreversible and damaging effects,” Paxton said in a news release. “Doctors who continue to provide these harmful ‘gender transition’ drugs and treatments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Calling her a “scofflaw” and a “radical gender activist,” Paxton also accused Lau of “falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and billing records” by inserting a puberty blocker device into a 15-year-old and billing the patient's insurance for an endocrine disorder instead of the patient’s gender dysphoria. Paxton claims that Lau used a diagnostic billing code from false billing code fact sheets provided by Campaign for Southern Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, saying Lau was trying to conceal that she was providing care in violation of state law.

Lau specializes in adolescent female and male sexual and reproductive health including gender dysphoria and has worked at UT Southwestern since 2008, according to the medical center’s website. Lau and UT Southwestern did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SB 14, which the Texas Supreme Court upheld in June, commands the Texas Medical Board to revoke the license or other authorization to practice medicine from a physician who violates the law. In addition, Paxton is asking for $1 million, which includes civil penalties and to pay for other costs.

“We’re grateful for the Texas Attorney General’s leadership in protecting kids from these harmful treatments and procedures,” said Jonathan Covey, policy director of Texas Values, in a news release. “No one is above the law, and it is horrific to hurt little children in order to advance radical gender ideology and play political games.”

Andrea Segovia, policy director of Transgender Education Network of Texas, said Thursday’s lawsuit signals to providers that they might be sued for supplying treatment to transgender youth. She said some doctors have already stopped providing gender-affirming care to adults because of the chilling effect of SB 14.

“This is another straw in the haystack,” said Segovia. “Adding to that ultimate goal of not providing the care people want in their state.”

For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/17/paxton-transgender-lawsuit-doctor/.

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