Seattle Children's Hospital will abandon its operations in Texas as part of an agreement with the state's attorney general to end an investigation into gender-affirming care for patients there.
Last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered Seattle Children's Hospital to release information about gender-affirming care that Texas patients may have received at the facility after the state made access for minors illegal. Attempted to force submission. The hospital sued Paxton, saying the office lacked jurisdiction over Washington's patient records.
According to the agreement filed April 19 in Travis County District Court, Seattle Children's plans to “voluntarily withdraw its registration to do business in the State of Texas” by the end of this week. In response, Paxton's office withdrew the civil investigation request and requested an affidavit that it said was submitted to the hospital in November.
“Protecting patient privacy is our top priority, and Seattle Children's successfully fought the Texas Attorney General's excessive demands to obtain sensitive patient information. The Attorney General has withdrawn his request,” a Seattle Children's spokesperson said in a statement. “Seattle Children's does not operate a medical facility or provide gender-affirming care in Texas. As the largest pediatric health care provider in the Pacific Northwest, we comply with all applicable laws. We comply and take that obligation seriously.”
Paxton's inquiry sought information such as diagnostic details, prescription medications and other treatment protocols for a Texas patient who received gender-affirming care services at a Seattle hospital. His office also requested similar records from a telemedicine clinic in Georgia.
“As we were just beginning to ask questions, they decided to leave Texas and forfeit the opportunity to do business here,” Paxton said in a press release about the investigation and subsequent agreement.
Seattle Children's said in a lawsuit filed in December that the request was “inappropriate.”
“There is no question that Texas law provides the Attorney General with broad investigative powers,” the complaint states. “But its power is not infinite.”
Gender-affirming care for minors is legal in Washington state.
Last fall, Texas became the most populous state to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and transition surgery to treat adolescent gender dysphoria, joining a growing number of states banning such treatments. Joined the. Medical experts say gender reassignment surgery is rarely performed on transgender youth.
Paxton's office said it is investigating whether Seattle Children's may have violated the Texas False Trade Practices Act, which protects against common misrepresentations about practices.
In a statement to the Seattle Times at the time of the lawsuit, the hospital said: “Seattle Children's is committed to protecting patient personal information related to our gender-affirming care services as required by the Texas Attorney General. We have taken legal action.” “Seattle Children's complies with the law regarding all medical services provided.”
Amid recent battles over gender-affirming care, multiple families have publicly announced their decisions to leave Texas to seek medical care in other states. Violet Augustine, a Dallas schoolteacher, launched her GoFundMe campaign in early 2022 to help her daughter move to California.
Dr. Ximena Lopez, the state's leading provider of gender-affirming care for transgender youth, also moved to California out of concern for her and her family's safety.
Earlier this year, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments over whether to temporarily suspend the state's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Families and doctors sued the state, saying the law would have “devastating consequences” for transgender youth, who have higher rates of mental illness and suicidal thoughts. The court has not yet issued an opinion.
