XPost: alt.transgendered, comp.os.linux.advocacy, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: humoring@sickos.gay   
      
   DALLAS (AP) — Texas has sued a Dallas doctor over accusations of providing   
   gender-affirming care to youths, marking one of the first times a state   
   has sought to enforce recent bans driven by Republicans.   
      
   The lawsuit announced by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on   
   Thursday alleges that Dr. May Lau, a physician in the Dallas area,   
   provided hormones to over 20 minors in violation of a Texas ban that took   
   effect last year.   
      
   It is the first time Texas has tried to enforce the law, said Harper   
   Seldin, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. He also said   
   he was not aware of other states that have tried to enforce similar bans.   
      
   “Today, enforcement begins against those who have violated the law,”   
   Paxton's office said in the lawsuit, which was filed in suburban Collin   
   County.   
      
   The Texas law prevents transgender people under 18 from accessing hormone   
   therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, though surgical   
   procedures are rarely performed on children.   
      
   Seldin said that while he couldn't comment on the facts of this case, he   
   said the lawsuit is the “predictable and terrifying result" of the law,   
   which his organization tried to prevent by challenging it.   
      
   “Doctors should not have to fear being targeted by the government when   
   using their best medical judgment and politicians like Ken Paxton should   
   not be putting themselves between families and their doctors,” Seldin   
   said.   
      
   Lau is an associate professor in the pediatrics department at UT   
   Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, according to the UT Southwestern   
   website. The lawsuit said she has hospital privileges at two area   
   Children's Health hospitals.   
      
   The lawsuit accuses her of “falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and   
   billing records to represent that her testosterone prescriptions are for   
   something other than transitioning a child’s biological sex or affirming a   
   child’s belief that their gender identity is inconsistent with their   
   biological sex.”   
      
   Paxton is asking the court for an injunction against Lau and for her to be   
   fined as much as $10,000 per violation.   
      
   Lau nor UT Southwestern immediately replied to requests for comment on   
   Thursday. Children's Health said in a statement that it "follows and   
   adheres to all state health care laws.”   
      
   At least 26 states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-   
   affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states   
   face lawsuits. Federal judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and   
   Florida as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the   
   Florida ruling. A judge’s orders are in place to temporarily block   
   enforcement of the ban in Montana. New Hampshire restrictions are to take   
   effect in January.   
      
   The lawsuit comes just weeks before an election in which Republicans have   
   used support of gender-affirming health care as a way to attack their   
   opponents. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has repeatedly blasted his Democratic   
   challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, for his support of transgender rights.   
      
   The Texas ban was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was   
   the first governor to order the investigation of families of transgender   
   minors who receive gender-affirming care.   
      
   https://apnews.com/article/gender-affirming-care-doctor-lawsuit-texas-   
   bb2a24b0c981819a11c7a4386c72eb6c   
      
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