FILE - Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados speaks during an interview at his private practice in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
FILE - Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados poses for a photo outside his private practice in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
FILE - Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados speaks during an interview at his private practice in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
Texas drops lawsuit against doctor accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth
DALLAS (AP) 鈥 One of the nation鈥檚 first doctors accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth under GOP-led bans was found to have not violated the law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 office says, nearly a year after the state sued the physician.
FILE - Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados speaks during an interview at his private practice in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
DALLAS (AP) 鈥 One of the nation鈥檚 first doctors accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth under GOP-led bans was found to have not violated the law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 office says, nearly a year after the state sued the physician.
Dr. Hector Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist in El Paso, was called a 鈥渟cofflaw鈥 last year by Paxton鈥檚 office in a lawsuit that accused him of falsifying medical records and violating that took effect in 2023. More than two dozen states have prohibitions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, but Texas was the first to bring cases against doctors, filing lawsuits against Granados .
The cases against the other doctors, both in Dallas, remain ongoing. But Paxton’s office quietly withdrew its lawsuit last week against Granados, saying in a statement that “no legal violations were found鈥 following a 鈥渞eview of the evidence and Granados鈥 complete medical records.鈥
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Granados, who says Paxton’s office never reached out before suing him last October, said he wished the state had first let him show he had stopped providing gender-affirming care for youth before the law took effect.
鈥淚t was just out and then we had to do everything afterwards,鈥 Granados said in an interview.
The U.S. Supreme Court that states can ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and at least 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning the care. Although those accused of violating bans face criminal charges in some states, they do not in Texas, where the punishments instead expose providers to steep fines and revocation of their medical licenses.
Paxton’s office said in a statement that Dr. May Lau and Dr. M. Brett Cooper, the other accused physicians, will 鈥渇ace justice for hurting Texas kids both physically and mentally.” Their attorneys didn’t offer comment Wednesday.
鈥淎ttorney General Paxton will continue to bring the full force of the law against the delusional, left-wing medical professionals guilty of forcing 鈥榞ender鈥 insanity on our children,鈥 Paxton’s office said.
Paxton, a close ally of President , has sought to position himself as a national leader among the GOP’s ascendant hard right and is
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Trump, in his second term, has against transgender rights, moving to for transgender Americans. Even in states where the care is allowed under state law, have said they were .
Harper Seldin, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project, said that even when a lawsuit is dropped, it still takes 鈥渁n enormous toll” on those who have to defend themselves.
鈥淚 think this continues to be best understood as part of the Texas AG鈥檚 campaign to intimidate medical providers,鈥 he said.
Granados said he was meticulous in halting gender-affirming care for youth before Texas鈥 ban took effect. He said that before the ban, treating transgender youth was just an extension of his practice that treats youth with diabetes, growth problems and early puberty.
He said that after the ban, he did continue to prescribe puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy, but that those treatments were not for gender transition. Granados said they were for youth with endocrine disorders, which occur when hormone levels are too high or too low.
Texas’ lawsuit against Granados called him a 鈥渟cofflaw who is harming the health and safety of Texas children.鈥 It referenced a 2015 news article about transgender care that quoted Granados and medical articles he had written on the topic. Also listed in the lawsuit were details on unnamed patients, including their ages and what they had been prescribed, including testosterone.
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In a court document filed in Cooper鈥檚 case, an attorney in Paxton’s office said they had subpoenaed provider reports for the doctor’s testosterone prescriptions from the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program.
Granados鈥 attorney, Mark Bracken, said that after entering into an agreed protective order with the state, they were able to confidentially produce patient records to show Granados had complied with the law.
Peter Salib, an assistant professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, said that it鈥檚 鈥渦nusual鈥 for a state to drop a case due to lack of violations after filing a lawsuit.
鈥淭hey have a lot of opportunity to find out what is going on before they decide to bring a lawsuit,鈥 he said.
Granados said he’s grateful to no longer have the lawsuit on the back of his mind.
鈥淚t always puts a toll on you and how you feel,鈥 he said.