Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now investigating Texas Children's Hospital in Houston — the second children's hospital in the state being probed on whether its providers are performing gender-transition procedures.
"Recent reports indicate that Texas Children's Hospital may be unlawfully performing such procedures, and my office is working to uncover the truth," Mr. Paxton said in a May 19 statement announcing the investigation. The attorney general's office gave Texas Children's a June 19 deadline to turn over requested documents. In March of 2022, the hospital said it had halted prescribing gender-affirming hormone therapies after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state officials to investigate such care as child abuse.
On May 5, Mr. Paxton launched a probe into whether Dell Children's Medical Center is offering puberty blockers and other gender-affirming care. Ten days later, the Austin-based hospital confirmed it was parting ways with physicians who staffed its adolescent medicine clinic. No details were released on how many physicians were departing or when.
Gender-affirming care for minors is not illegal in Texas, though the governor has indicated he will sign a bill recently passed by the state legislature that would bar minors from receiving such care, the Texas Tribune reported.
A spokesperson for Texas Children's told the news outlet that their "healthcare professionals have always and will continue to prioritize the care of our patients within the bounds of the law."