A Dallas doctor is facing legal action from Texas for allegedly providing cross-sex hormones to transgender youths illegally. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against Dr. May Lau, accusing her of giving prohibited “gender transition” hormones to over 20 adolescents, which goes against a Republican-backed ban in Texas. This is the first time a state has tried to enforce laws prohibiting transgender medical procedures for minors.
Under Texas law, doctors are not allowed to provide surgery, puberty blockers, or cross-sex hormones to children to affirm their self-professed gender identity if it contradicts their biological sex. The lawsuit claims that Dr. Lau, a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, prescribed testosterone to at least 21 biological females aged 14 to 17 for transitioning or affirming their gender identity. She is referred to as a “scofflaw” and “radical gender activist” in the lawsuit.
Dr. Lau is accused of falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and billing records to make it seem like the testosterone prescriptions were for something other than transitioning a child’s biological sex or affirming their gender identity. The state of Texas is seeking an injunction to prevent Dr. Lau from prescribing testosterone and estrogen to minors for gender transition purposes, as well as writing prescriptions and billing for gender transition treatments under false diagnoses.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton emphasized that the state passed a law to protect children from harmful and irreversible effects of unscientific medical interventions related to gender transition. He stated that doctors who continue to provide these treatments will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
It is worth noting that at least 26 states have implemented laws restricting or banning transgender medical procedures for minors, with many facing legal challenges. While federal judges have deemed bans in Arkansas and Florida unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has temporarily halted the Florida ruling, and enforcement of the ban in Montana is on hold.
The lawsuit against Dr. Lau comes amidst a larger political conversation, with Republicans criticizing Democrats for their stance on transgender hormone therapies and sex-change surgery for minors. Governor Greg Abbott signed the transgender medical procedure ban into law and has ordered investigations into parents seeking transgender procedures for their children.
As the legal battle unfolds, it remains to be seen how the case against Dr. Lau will develop and what implications it may have for the broader conversation surrounding transgender medical procedures for minors. It highlights the complexities and controversies surrounding healthcare decisions for transgender youth and the legal landscape in which these decisions are made.