OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:10 PM – Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was blocked from requesting information and records from PFLAG. PFLAG is a national group that assists LGBTQ individuals, particularly adolescents with gender dysphoria issues who are seeking “gender-affirming care,” such as hormones, surgery, and other medical procedures.
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“Gender-affirming care is a supportive form of healthcare. It consists of an array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people,” according to The Office of Population Affairs (OPA).
Judge Amy Clark Meachum of Travis County District Court granted the temporary injunction on Monday, claiming that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or injury will result to PFLAG and its members” if the group is forced to give Paxton’s office access to patient, caregiver, and member identities seeking hormones and other services for minors.
“PFLAG is the United States’ largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and those who love them,” the group states on its website.
The organization will now be able to maintain privacy of its information due to the new order.
“PFLAG families in Texas gained further protection today when the court reaffirmed that the Attorney General can’t two-step around the law with an outrageous demand for private information,” Brian K. Bond, CEO of PFLAG, said in a statement.
Paxton’s office served PFLAG with civil demands on February 9th for the production of records, correspondence, and data pertaining to PFLAG’s assistance to families with children who identify as transgender.
According to Paxton’s office, the request for PFLAG records was a component of an investigation into healthcare professionals who, in violation of Senate Bill 14, prohibited treatment in the state, provided hormone pills to children.
In response to the demands of the investigation, PFLAG filed a lawsuit on February 28th, requesting relief and a temporary restraining order to protect the privacy of its members.
“PFLAG’s information is highly relevant to the Attorney General’s investigations into whether medical providers are committing insurance fraud in order to circumvent SB 14… PFLAG refused to produce a single document and instead sued the Attorney General in an apparent attempt to conceal information,” stated the attorney general’s office in a statement.
PFLAG, with assistance from Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Transgender Law Center, obtained a temporary restraining order on March 1st.
Up until the hearing on March 25th, when Meachum granted the injunction based on identical grounds, the order was in force.
“This court ruling is a critical step in allowing PFLAG and its members to join together and advocate for each other, free from the threat of the attorney general’s retaliation and intimidation,” said Chloe Kempf, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas.
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