Requesting information and documents from the Texas Attorney General is prohibited PFLAGNational nonprofit organization supporting families of LGBTQ people, including transgender youth seeking gender-affirming care.
Travis County District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum said temporary injunction It wrote Monday that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage to PFLAG and its members” would result if the organization were to turn over information to Paxton’s office, such as the identities of members seeking gender-affirming care for minors, caregivers and patients.
The new order allows a half-century-old non-profit organization to keep their information confidential.
“PFLAG families in Texas received more protection today when the court reaffirmed that the Attorney General’s excessive request for personal information cannot give two steps around the law,” said PFLAG CEO Brian K. Bond.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On February 9, PFLAG received civil demands from Paxton’s office to turn over documents, communications and information related to its work supporting families with transgender children.
Paxton’s office said the PFLAG document request is part of an effort to investigate health care providers who offer gender-affirming care to minors. Senate Bill 14which is prohibited treatment in the state.
PFLAG a claim On February 28 a temporary restraining order and relief to protect the privacy of its members following investigative requests.
Paxton’s office said in response to the lawsuit that it would prosecute the organization.
“PFLAG’s information is very relevant to the Attorney General’s investigation into whether health care providers are engaging in insurance fraud to circumvent SB 14… PFLAG refused to provide a document and instead, in an apparent attempt to withhold information from the General He took the prosecutor to court,” the lawyer said in the information released by the General Administration on February 29.
On March 1, a temporary arrest measure was chosen provided By PFLAG with assistance from Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Transgender Law Center. That order remained in effect pending a March 25 hearing, when Meachum issued a ruling on the same grounds.
“This court decision is a critical step for PFLAG and its members to come together and defend each other free from the threat of retaliation and intimidation from the attorney general,” said Chloe Kempf, attorney for the ACLU of Texas. .
Meachum wrote that there is a “high probability” that PFLAG will prevail after the June 10 trial.
PFLAG’s legal victory is the latest development in Texas’ efforts to limit access to transitional care for minors. In September, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a new state law that would ban sex-affirming care for minors. come into force and in December, Paxton checked into a Seattle hospital hand over the records Regarding sex-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas.
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