‘I follow the law:’ El Paso doctor responds to Ken Paxton’s lawsuit over alleged transgender care

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Dr. Hector Granados felt puzzled when he first heard of the allegations. The El Paso pediatrician had just finished his hospital rounds early in the morning last fall when he received a call from a friend. The friend saw in the news that Texas was suing Granados. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition Oct. 29 claiming Granados had prescribed puberty blockers and hormones to minors for gender transition — health care the state made illegal beginning Sept. 1, 2023. The court filing accuses Granados of providing gender-affirming care under the false pretense of treating precocious puberty. Paxton filed the lawsuit in Kaufman County near Dallas, about 650 miles east of El Paso, where one of the 21 patients in the court filing is said to reside. Granados is one of three doctors Paxton sued last year for allegedly providing gender-affirming care to minors. Granados denied the allegations. “I was always respectful of the...