"No one is above the law, and I think our organization knows this better than anyone because we helped draft this law," Jonathan Covey of Texas Values told AFN.
Senate Bill 14, a 2023 law that was upheld by the Texas supreme court in 2024, prohibits things such as gender surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for minors.
Dangers of transition
Evidence obtained by the Office of the Attorney General revealed that a Dallas-area doctor illegally provided high-dose cross-sex hormones to twenty-one minor patients for the direct purpose of “transitioning” the children’s biological sex.
"Growing scientific evidence strongly suggests that ‘gender transition’ interventions prescribed to or performed on children in an attempt to anatomically or hormonally alter their biological sex characteristics have damaging, long-term consequences," said the attorney general's office in a press release. "Additionally, the prohibited treatments are experimental, and no scientific evidence supports their supposed benefits."
State law also directs the Texas Medical Board to revoke licenses of those who violate SB 14.
It is the first time Texas has tried to enforce the law, said Harper Seldin, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project. He also said he was not aware of other states that have tried to enforce similar bans.
False hope, not real help
Covey says "it's really sort of horrific" to think that someone would be willing to just go blatantly against the law and do this to children while offering "false hope instead of real help."
When asked why medical professionals might do these things, Covey said it could be for a number of reasons.
"It's likely an ideology-driven thumbing their nose at the law," Covey said. "No. 2, it might be somewhat out of ignorance, and three, I think that's money driven."
According to Paxton's office, the doctor "allegedly used false diagnoses and billing codes" to mask what Paxton described as "unlawful prescriptions."
Texas Values, in a news release, praised Paxton’s “leadership” and said efforts by physicians such as these, in addition to harming children, “are playing political games.”
