DALLAS (AP) � Texas has sued a Dallas doctor over accusations of providing
gender-affirming care to youths, marking one of the first times a state
has sought to enforce recent bans driven by Republicans.

The lawsuit announced by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on
Thursday alleges that Dr. May Lau, a physician in the Dallas area,
provided hormones to over 20 minors in violation of a Texas ban that took
effect last year.

It is the first time Texas has tried to enforce the law, said Harper
Seldin, a staff attorney for the ACLU�s LGBTQ & HIV Project. He also said
he was not aware of other states that have tried to enforce similar bans.

�Today, enforcement begins against those who have violated the law,�
Paxton's office said in the lawsuit, which was filed in suburban Collin
County.

The Texas law prevents transgender people under 18 from accessing hormone
therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, though surgical
procedures are rarely performed on children.

Seldin said that while he couldn't comment on the facts of this case, he
said the lawsuit is the �predictable and terrifying result" of the law,
which his organization tried to prevent by challenging it.

�Doctors should not have to fear being targeted by the government when
using their best medical judgment and politicians like Ken Paxton should
not be putting themselves between families and their doctors,� Seldin
said.

Lau is an associate professor in the pediatrics department at UT
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, according to the UT Southwestern
website. The lawsuit said she has hospital privileges at two area
Children's Health hospitals.

The lawsuit accuses her of �falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and
billing records to represent that her testosterone prescriptions are for
something other than transitioning a child�s biological sex or affirming a
child�s belief that their gender identity is inconsistent with their
biological sex.�

Paxton is asking the court for an injunction against Lau and for her to be
fined as much as $10,000 per violation.

Lau nor UT Southwestern immediately replied to requests for comment on
Thursday. Children's Health said in a statement that it "follows and
adheres to all state health care laws.�

At least 26 states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-
affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states
face lawsuits. Federal judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and
Florida as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the
Florida ruling. A judge�s orders are in place to temporarily block
enforcement of the ban in Montana. New Hampshire restrictions are to take
effect in January.

The lawsuit comes just weeks before an election in which Republicans have
used support of gender-affirming health care as a way to attack their
opponents. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has repeatedly blasted his Democratic
challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, for his support of transgender rights.

The Texas ban was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was
the first governor to order the investigation of families of transgender
minors who receive gender-affirming care.

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