Texas judge temporarily blocks Paxton’s request for data on transgender minors

A judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Texas attorney general from forcing an LGBTQ organization to turn over documents about transgender minors and the gender-affirming care they may receive.

In Texas, medical care for gender transition is prohibited by law for minors passed last year. As part of an investigation into violations of the ban, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office issued an early notice last month that the non-profit organization PFLAG Nationalwhich supports families in accessing gender-affirming care for children, provides information on minors in the state who may have received such treatments.

But on Friday, Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel issued an injunction command to Mr. Paxton, just days after PFLAG filed a lawsuit to block the request, he said handing over the documents would cause “irreparable injury, loss or damage” to the group. The judge added that such a demand would infringe on the group’s constitutional rights and expose its members to “gross invasions” of privacy.

In a statement, PFLAG attorneys, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said they were “grateful that the court recognized the harm caused by the attorney general’s office’s intrusive demands.”

Mr. Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday’s order. But he has previously argued that PFLAG’s information is “highly relevant” to his investigation into medical providers who he says are trying to circumvent the ban on gender-affirming care for minors. “Any organization that seeks to violate this law, commit fraud or weaponize science and medicine against children will be held accountable,” he said in a statement.

The judge scheduled a hearing for March 25 to give the attorney general a chance to argue against the order.

The ruling comes as legislation on transgender rights remains a national focus. Republicans have introduced and passed dozens of bills aimed at restricting these rights, including laws restricting bathroom use and participation in sports teams.

At least 23 states have banned gender transition care for minors, with Texas being the largest. Along with excluding minors from receiving the treatments, the law in Texas says doctors who provide such care will have their medical licenses revoked, and it bans health insurance plans from covering the treatments. In Texas, According to a report from the Williams Institute at UCLA

In recent months, the attorney general has made multiple attempts to obtain transgender patient records as he seeks to crack down on people he suspects are violating state law. Mr. Paxton investigated with PFLAG two children’s hospitals in the state for medical records of patients who received gender-affirming care.

He has also gone across state lines for such documents. In November, Mr. Paxton sent a subpoena to Seattle Children’s Hospital, seeking records of Texas patients who had received care there. The hospital system sued the office of the attorney general in December, and a judge has yet to rule in that case.

The documents case is not the first time PFLAG has questioned Texas’ efforts to prevent gender-affirming care for transgender youth. In 2022, the group successfully asked a judge to temporarily block Governor Greg Abbott’s order to investigate families of transgender children receiving gender-affirming care or treatment for gender dysphoria. That order also came from Mr. Paxton, who claimed that gender-affirming care for transgender children is “child abuse.” The outcome of that lawsuit is also pending.

Medical professionals have debated which children should receive gender-affirming treatments and at what age. But leading medical groups in the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatricssay that such care should be available to minors and are against legal prohibitions.

PFLAG also challenged the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors after it was signed into law. That case over the law’s constitutionality is still ongoing, but the state Supreme Court in September allowed the ban to take effect in the meantime.

Other states have filed several lawsuits challenging their gender-affirming healthcare bans. In November, plaintiffs in the case against the Tennessee law petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. The court has not yet decided whether to hear the case.

J. David Goodman And Amy Harmon reporting contributed.