Texas Supreme Court Forces PFLAG to Produce Documents in Gender Procedures Investigation
Chief Justice Blacklock's opinion was scathing — and AG Paxton's investigation moves forward. #Texas
Texas Supreme Court to PFLAG: Hand Over the Documents
The Texas Supreme Court just reversed a lower court ruling that had shielded PFLAG — a national LGBT advocacy organization — from producing documents in an Attorney General investigation into whether medical providers are illegally performing gender transition procedures on minors.
Background
In 2023, Texas passed Senate Bill 14, which prohibits medical procedures on children for purposes of gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria. Since then, Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has been investigating whether medical providers are using deceptive billing practices to disguise SB 14 violations — which would also violate the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is incorporated in California but has many chapters and over a thousand members in Texas. When PFLAG's executive director submitted an affidavit in a related lawsuit mentioning conversations about "alternative avenues to maintain transgender care in Texas," the AG's office issued a civil investigative demand for related documents.
Rather than comply, PFLAG challenged the demand in Travis County's 261st District Court. Judge Amy Clark-Meachum (D) issued a ruling broadly protecting PFLAG from producing the documents. The AG appealed directly to the Texas Supreme Court.
The Ruling
Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock's opinion was pointed. He criticized the lower court for essentially putting the AG's investigation on trial rather than handling what should have been a routine discovery dispute.
"Although this matter could have been handled much like a conventional discovery dispute, it was not. It remained pending in the district court for over a year, during which time the corporation's petition was used as a way to put the Attorney General's investigation on trial — rather than as a way to obtain speedy judicial rulings on recognized discovery objections."
Blacklock made clear that politically sensitive topics don't get special judicial treatment: a law governing the medical industry is a law governing the medical industry, and the AG has the tools to investigate potential violations.
"As with any other law governing the medical industry, if the Attorney General reasonably believes that doctors or hospitals are using deceptive practices to avoid detection of their violation of the law, he may use the tools available to him to investigate the matter."
What It Means
PFLAG must now produce the requested documents. The AG's office has agreed to allow redactions for privacy, but the investigation moves forward. For grassroots Texans who pushed hard for SB 14, this is a significant win — the law has teeth, and the courts just confirmed the AG can use them.