Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Dr. May Chi Lau, a Dallas-based physician accused of providing hormone therapy to minors in violation of the state’s gender-affirming care ban. The case marks the first time an attorney general has sued an individual doctor under such a law, raising significant concerns about the future of transgender healthcare in the United States.
According to Paxton, Dr. Lau, who specializes in adolescent medicine, administered hormone replacement therapy to 21 minors between October 2023 and August 2024. This, Paxton argues, violates Senate Bill 14, a law enacted last year in Texas that bans gender-affirming care for minors. The law is part of a broader wave of legislation across the U.S. aimed at restricting access to healthcare for transgender youth.
The lawsuit goes beyond just the treatment itself. Paxton claims that Lau masked the provision of care using false diagnoses and billing codes, an accusation that, if proven, could lead to the revocation of her medical license and a substantial financial penalty. The stakes are high, not just for Lau, but for the countless trans youth whose access to life-saving care is increasingly jeopardized by laws like SB 14.
While Paxton’s office describes gender-affirming care as “experimental,” this view is contested by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. These institutions maintain that such care is medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria, a condition that causes significant distress for many trans individuals.
The legal battle in Texas is part of a larger national conversation about transgender rights. In many states, lawmakers are seeking to curtail access to gender-affirming care, while courts wrestle with the constitutionality of these laws. How these cases, including a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a similar law in Tennessee, are decided will have far-reaching implications for transgender Americans and the LGBTQ community at large.
For many, the lawsuit against Dr. Lau represents a direct attack on the rights of transgender individuals to access appropriate healthcare. It further marginalizes an already vulnerable group and underscores the need for continued advocacy for transgender rights.