AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton We requested the following records from Seattle hospitals: Gender affirming treatment Court filings appear to indicate Republicans are investigating transgender health care across state lines.
Seattle Children's Hospital filed a lawsuit in Austin, Texas, this month asking a court to invalidate or narrow the request by Paxton, a staunch conservative who has helped advance Republican efforts targeting transgender rights. I asked for it.His office sent a similar letter earlier this year. to a hospital in Texas.
Texas is among them Over 20 states Countries that have enacted laws that restrict or prohibit gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. No ruling has yet been made on the Seattle hospital's lawsuit, according to court records Friday.
The hospital argued that Paxton's office exceeded its jurisdiction and did not have the authority to request the records.
“Furthermore, this request is an unconstitutional attempt to investigate and inhibit the interstate commerce and travel potential of Texans to other states,” the complaint states.
Paxton's office did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment Friday. A lawyer and a spokesperson for Seattle Children's Hospital also did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
Seattle hospitals received the request from the state of Texas in November. The lawsuit includes copies of letters from Paxton's office, including one asking hospitals to submit records identifying drugs given to children living in Texas. include. Number of Texas children treated. A document that identifies the “standard protocol or guidance” used for treatment.
The hospital argued that it could not legally respond to the letter. Signed by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee The organization was founded earlier this year to protect minors seeking gender-affirming care in Washington.
of law was part of A flurry of bills will be introduced in Democratic-led states this year. The purpose was to take shelter in conservative movement Lawmakers in other states have attacked transgender rights and restricted or banned gender-affirming care for minors.
In May, Paxton's office asked Dell Children's Hospital in Texas for information about the hospital's policy on puberty blockers and documents identifying patients it referred for treatment or counseling. A request from the attorney general's office at the time called for an examination of hospital records to determine “any violations of state law or misrepresentations made to parents or patients.” .
Those efforts began before Texas' regulations were signed by its first governor, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. order a family investigation Number of transgender minors receiving gender-affirming care.
Texas law prohibits transgender minors from undergoing hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or transition surgery, even though medical experts say these surgical procedures are rarely performed on children. There is. Children who have already started taking banned drugs will need to be weaned off the drugs in a “medically appropriate” way.
