Dr. May Lau, a Dallas-based physician specializing in adolescent medicine, is facing a lawsuit from the Texas state government over allegations of providing cross-sex hormones to transgender minors. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Lau violated a state law that prohibits the use of puberty blockers, surgeries, and hormone treatments for minors seeking to transition.
The lawsuit claims that Lau prescribed testosterone to over 20 adolescents, despite the law, which was passed last year under Republican support. This marks the first attempt by the state to enforce its ban on transgender medical care for minors.
The case was filed in Collin County, where the lawsuit accuses Dr. Lau of prescribing testosterone to at least 21 biological females aged 14 to 17. The lawsuit characterizes Lau as a “radical gender activist” and claims she falsified medical and billing records to disguise the true purpose of the prescriptions.
The state contends that these records falsely indicated the treatment was for non-transition-related conditions, such as endocrine disorders, in violation of Texas law. The law prohibits doctors from affirming a child’s gender identity through medical procedures if it conflicts with their biological sex.
Texas Sues Dallas Doctor for Allegedly Prescribing Hormones to Transgender Minors in Violation of State Law
Texas is seeking a court injunction to stop Lau from continuing to prescribe hormones or bill for gender-transition-related care. The lawsuit also includes financial penalties, with the state requesting fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
Attorney General Paxton issued a statement condemning the practice, calling the treatments “dangerous” and “unscientific,” and reaffirming that doctors who provide such care to minors will face prosecution. Lau and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she is a professor, have not yet responded to the allegations.
This legal action is part of a larger wave of state-level restrictions on transgender medical care for minors across the U.S. To date, at least 26 states have passed laws limiting or banning such procedures, though many of these laws are under legal challenge.
Federal judges have struck down bans in Arkansas and Florida as unconstitutional, although Florida’s ruling is on hold pending appeal. In Montana, a temporary court order has blocked the enforcement of similar laws, and new restrictions in New Hampshire are set to go into effect early next year.
The lawsuit comes at a politically charged time, just ahead of the upcoming election, where transgender rights have become a divisive issue. Republican leaders, including Senator Ted Cruz, have targeted Democrats for their support of transgender healthcare, using it as a focal point in campaign attacks.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the state’s ban into law, has been at the forefront of these efforts, even initiating investigations into parents seeking gender-transition procedures for their children.
