Texas AG Paxton sues El Paso doctor over allegedly providing gender transition treatments
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against an El Paso doctor, claiming he was "illegally providing 'gender transition' treatments to Texas children" as young as 12 years old.
Paxton announced the lawsuit in a Wednesday, Oct. 30, news release stating El Paso Dr. Hector M. Granados violated state law by "knowingly providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for the purpose of 'transitioning' their biological sex."
“Texas is cracking down on doctors illegally prescribing dangerous ‘gender transition’ drugs to children,” Paxton said in a statement. “State law forbids prescribing these interventions to minors because they have irreversible and damaging effects. Any physician found doing so will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
The lawsuit is seeking for a judge to immediately issue a temporary injunction stopping Granados from providing gender transition treatments to patients. The lawsuit is ultimately seeking a permanent injunction.
Paxton also is asking for the court to fine Granados $10,000 per alleged violation of state law.
The lawsuit lists 21 patients between the ages of 12 to 17 years old. Most of the patients listed in the lawsuit live in El Paso County.
Granados did not response to requests for comment left at his office. Granados is listed as a pediatric endocrinologist at Pediatric Endocrinology Associates, which has two locations in El Paso.
The lawsuit was filed in Kaufman County just east of Dallas, Texas. The lawsuit claims Granados provided some of the medical treatments in Kaufman County.
Kaufman County court records do not list an attorney for Granados. No response to the lawsuit has been filed by Granados, court records show.
Paxton alleges Granados provide illegal gender transition treatments to children
Granados is accused of being a "scofflaw who is harming the health and safety of Texas children by providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for the purpose of transitioning their biological sex or affirming their belief that their gender identity or sex is inconsistent with their biological sex," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also refers to Granados as a "radical gender activist."
Granados allegedly violated Senate Bill 14, a law passed in September 2023 that prohibits "gender transition” medical interventions such as surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for minors, Texas Attorney General's Office officials noted.
The Texas Supreme Court upheld the law in June 2024.
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The lawsuit claims Granados was "falsifying medical records, prescriptions, and billing records to intentionally conceal the unlawful conduct."
Granados allegedly wrote "unlawful prescriptions for the drugs as recently as August 19, 2024, with patients filling those unlawful prescriptions as recently as October 12, 2024," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit states Granados launched the Children & Adolescent Gender Clinic at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso. The lawsuit includes a link to a 2015 El Paso Times article reporting on the opening of clinic.
The filing also highlights a quote from Granados in the El Paso Times article.
"We follow guidelines from the Endocrine Society for transgender care and their recommendation is to block puberty the moment it starts so it doesn't progress so that's about 16 years old," Granados told the El Paso Times in 2015. "They will do the cross-gender hormones early probably 12 or 13 if these children have been identifying themselves all their lives and they already have that social support, they will do the transition at the time of puberty."
The lawsuit also includes several excerpts from various medical publications and lectures given by Granados on "medical transition of children’s biological sex."
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Paxton accused Granados of falsifying medical records by misdiagnosing patients to get insurance companies to cover the gender transition treatments. It also claims misdiagnoses were made in an effort to get pharmacies to fill prescriptions.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas AG sues El Paso doctor over gender transition treatments
