(PatriotWise.com) — Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit in Travis County, Texas, against the Texas Attorney General’s Office in December after Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to compel the hospital to turn over information about Texas minors who traveled out of state to receive transgender medical treatment, the Washington Post reported.
The hospital is asking a judge to nullify or limit Paxton’s request, arguing that the attorney general’s office has no jurisdiction over a hospital in Washington State.
According to the complaint, Paxton’s request for information under the pretext of an investigation by the attorney general’s consumer protection division was a sham.
In a statement from the hospital, a spokesperson said Seattle Children’s Hospital filed the lawsuit to protect patient privacy and information related to its transgender medical treatment.
In the past year, Paxton’s office has investigated Texas clinics that provided transgender treatments to minors, leading to the clinics closing or halting services for minors.
Officials and physicians from Seattle Children’s Hospital signed affidavits in the lawsuit asserting that the hospital is not incorporated in the state, nor does the hospital have property, bank accounts, or staff in Texas. The officials also asserted that the hospital does not advertise its transgender treatments for minors in the state of Texas.
The lawsuit also argues that the information requested by the attorney general’s office was protected under HIPAA and Washington state’s privacy laws.
Paxton’s office requested details on how many Texas children had received treatment for gender dysphoria at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It also sought information on the number of transgender surgeries that had been performed and the medications Children’s Hospital employees had prescribed to Texas minors.
In its complaint, the hospital argued that the attorney general’s demands were “an unconstitutional attempt to investigate and chill potential travel” by Texans looking to obtain treatment in another state.
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