A Dallas doctor has surrendered her state medical license after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued her last year for allegedly providing gender-affirming care to minors in violation of state law, Paxton's office said in a press release Friday.
Dr. May Lau is an adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and an associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Paxton sued her in October 2024, claiming Lau violated Senate Bill 14 by prescribing testosterone to 21 minor patients after the law took effect in 2023.
He also accused Lau of falsely billing insurance for another patient to obscure a prescription for a "puberty blocker device."
The lawsuit called Lau a "scofflaw" and "radical gender activist," saying each violation is a separate ground for the revocation of her license.
Lau’s physician license was cancelled by request Oct. 9, records on the Texas Medical Board’s website showed Friday.
“Doctors who permanently hurt kids by giving them experimental drugs are nothing more than disturbed left-wing activists who have no business being in the medical field,” Paxton said in Friday’s press release.
Numerous medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, have endorsed holistic gender-affirming care as treatment for children experiencing gender dysphoria, or distress experienced by people whose gender is not the same as their sex assigned at birth.
Craig Smyser, one of Lau’s attorney’s, said in an email to KERA News Lau is moving her medical practice to Oregon and she no longer saw a reason to continue to maintain her Texas license.
“Dr. Lau denies the Texas Attorney General’s politically- and ideologically-driven allegations, contends that the court has no jurisdiction over her, and maintains that the court where the AG filed the case — the county where AG Paxton has a residence and where Dr. Lau did not practice medicine — is a legally invalid venue for the case,” the statement read.
Lau had entered an agreement in January under which she would no longer practice medicine on patients, but only in academic, administrative and research settings.
Lau was the first of three doctors Paxton sued for similar allegations last year, including another UT Southwestern Medical Center employee. The state withdrew its lawsuit against El Paso pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados earlier this year after finding "no legal violations."
Paxton's office said its suit against Lau is ongoing.
Paxton previously said the state “is cracking down” on doctors who provide treatment to children experiencing gender dysphoria despite the state’s ban.
The Texas Supreme Court in June 2024 upheld SB 14 after medical providers, associations and families of transgender Texans sued to block the law from going into effect. The court reversed a lower court ruling that sided with the families.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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