Seattle Hospital Sues Texas AG Over Demand for Trans Care Info

Seattle Children’s Hospital has sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over his demand to know if the hospital has provided gender-affirming care to any minor Texan.

Texas has banned the provision of such care to transgender minors, so some have sought care out of state. These procedures are legal in Washington State.

Paxton’s office served the hospital with a demand for the information November 17, claiming to be looking for any activity that would run afoul of Texas’s consumer protection laws. The document asked for the number of Texas minors treated, their diagnoses, the medications prescribed, and more, including advice on how to wean a patient off the treatment.

Hospital officials say providing this information would violate Washington and U.S. privacy laws and that the state of Texas has no jurisdiction over the hospital, which does not offer services within the state.

“Additionally, the Demands represent an unconstitutional attempt to investigate and chill potential interstate commerce and travel for Texas residents seeking care in another state,” says the suit, filed in Travis County District Court in Texas.

The suit asks the court to set Paxton’s demand aside or, alternatively, give the hospital an extension of time to respond and request a limit to the scope of the information Paxton’s office seeks. Paxton originally wanted the information by December 7, and that was the day the hospital filed its suit.

Paxton is a virulently anti-LGBTQ+ Republican, as is Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Paxton wrote the legal opinion that classified gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse, and Abbott used that to justify ordering the state’s child welfare authorities to investigate parents who allow their children to access that care. Most of the investigations are on hold while a lawsuit against that policy is heard.

Washington, in contrast, passed a “shield law” this year that bars Washington-based businesses and organizations from providing information about gender-affirming care to states that restrict it.

Pictured: Seattle Children's Hospital and Ken Paxton