### Texas Attorney General Paxton Sues Doctor Over Gender-Affirming Treatments for Minors

In a significant legal development, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Dr. May C. Lau, an associate professor and physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, accusing her of providing gender-affirming treatments to minors in violation of the state's recent ban. The suit, brought to state court in Collin County, alleges that Dr. Lau treated 21 minors by prescribing high-dose cross-sex hormones.

Dr. Lau, who practices adolescent and young adult medicine at UT Southwestern and Children’s Health in Dallas, is accused of using false diagnoses and billing codes to mask the care provided. Children’s Health maintains a close affiliation with UT Southwestern. Paxton’s lawsuit depicts Dr. Lau as endangering the health and safety of minors by prescribing testosterone, a controlled substance, to biological female minors for gender transitioning purposes, claiming this action is in direct violation of the Texas Health & Safety Code. The suit labels Dr. Lau as a "Radical Gender Activist," highlighting her involvement in the treatment of gender dysphoria and her participation in gender-affirming care studies.

The legal action implicates Lau's association with the now-dissolved Gender Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support (Genecis) program at UT Southwestern and Children's Health. Both institutions, along with Dr. Lau, were not immediately available for comment regarding the lawsuit.

The controversy arises amid Texas's stringent legislative stance on gender-affirming medical care for minors, which was solidified in 2023. The legislation, signed by Governor Greg Abbott and upheld by the Texas Supreme Court, declares it unlawful to affirm a child's self-perceived gender if it conflicts with their biological sex.

Paxton’s lawsuit lists 21 unnamed minors, aged between 14 and 17, who were reportedly prescribed testosterone and other medications aimed at transitioning their biological sex. The suit also claims that Dr. Lau attempted to bypass the law by writing prescriptions before the ban took effect on September 1, 2023, ensuring that these prescriptions could be filled or refilled after the law's enactment.

Each instance of these alleged violations, according to the lawsuit, represents an independent basis for the potential revocation of Dr. Lau's medical license. Dr. Lau, who completed her medical education at Albany Medical College in New York and a fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine Children's Hospital in Houston, has been practicing in Texas since 2003. The Texas Medical Board’s records indicate that she has no prior medical malpractice investigations.

Earlier this year, Texas agencies also stopped making court-ordered changes to the sex listed on driver’s licenses and birth certificates for transgender individuals, reflecting the state's broader policy stance on transgender issues.