SEATTLE — Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit against the Texas Attorney General earlier this month, over a dispute related to the medical records of Texas residents who may have sought gender-affirming medical care in Washington.
Earlier in 2023, Texas enacted legislation banning trans kids from receiving puberty blocks and hormone therapy. As part of that, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (OAG) submitted a filing demanding that Seattle Children’s hand over medical information on Texas patients who might have received gender-affirming care at the hospital. The OAG also asked for the total number of kids from Texas being treated at the hospital.
The OAG’s filing says that failing to comply would come with a misdemeanor criminal charge along with a $5,000 fine or up to a year in jail.
That led to Seattle Children’s filing a lawsuit on Dec. 7, citing a Washington “shield law” signed into law in April 2023. It bars local agencies, companies, or private entities from cooperating with any state seeking civil or criminal action against people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care in Washington.
Seattle Children’s further asserts that the OAG’s demands “represent an unconstitutional attempt to investigate and chill potential interstate commerce and travel for Texas residents seeking care in another state.”
The hospital’s lawsuit asks for “a reasonable extension of time to respond and requests modification of the scope of the requests” from the OAG.
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