Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a doctor in El Paso for allegedly providing illegal "gender transition" treatment to children "as young as twelve," claiming state law forbids prescribing these interventions to minors due to "irreversible and damaging effects."
In his lawsuit, Paxton accuses Dr. Hector Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist, of violating Texas laws by "prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors for the purpose of gender transitioning." The attorney general refers to multiple minor patients whom he claims Granados treated under false diagnoses to conceal the illegal gender-transitioning treatments.
Texas law Senate Bill 14 (SB 14), which took effect in Sept. 2023, prohibits such treatments for minors. Paxton claims Granados hid his illegal activity by falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and billing codes. The doctor is also accused of coding treatments for "precocious puberty" with the intention of obtaining insurance coverage.
Paxton is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent the doctor from continuing to provide "gender transition" treatments as he suggests, they "endanger the health and safety of children."
According to Granado's website, the pediatrician has offices in east and central El Paso, in which he treats "sex development" conditions for children and adolescents who are not developing "typically."
The physician, who Paxton describes as a "radical gender activist," grew up in Ciudad Juarez and is known as a leading advocate for transgender care in Texas. In 2015 he was involved in the inauguration of El Paso's first transgender clinic, which specialized in helping pre-teens who suffered from "gender identity dysphoria."
Advocates in favor of gender transition treatment for minors cite studies that show significant improvements in mental health and well-being for children experiencing gender dysphoria when given access gender-affirming care. The University of Washington found that having access to hormones and puberty blockers for youth ages 13 to 20 was associated with a 60% lower odds of moderate to severe depression and a 73% lower odds of self-harm or suicidal thoughts compared to youth who did not receive these medications over a 12-month period.
Back in 2023, hundreds of Texan families with transgender children and allies protested against the state's efforts to forbid gender-transition care for minors -- with some making headlines as they decided to move out of the state once SB 14 took effect.
This happens as Republican political campaigns use transgender care for minors as political bait in ads and public attacks against their Democratic opponents. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have condemned Republicans for "promoting harmful narratives" against the transgender community in Texas, claiming their rhetoric is "truly alarming," and that "trans Texans don't need their lives politicized."
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