Texas AG Issues Opinion Making It Illegal for Mental Health Providers to ‘Transition’ Children

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion on March 2 that says it is illegal for state-licensed mental health care providers to “transition” children. Texas passed Senate Bill 14 in 2023, which banned using “gender-affirming care” procedures such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria in minors. In Paxton’s opinion, he writes that since SB 14 made it illegal for health care providers to “transition” children, the law also applies to mental health care providers licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Council. He said mental health professionals are defined as health care providers “in this sense for good reason, as the path to kids being ‘transitioned’ often starts with unethical indoctrination by activists providing mental ‘health care’ designed to confuse children about their gender.”...