DECATUR, Ga. — A metro Atlanta telehealth clinic is the target of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. On Friday, the AG requested medical records for all Texas youth who have received gender-affirming care through QueerMed in Decatur.
It all comes down to transition-related care, which state allows it and which doesn't. Texas is one of over a dozen other states with laws that restrict minors' access to this kind of care. While Georgia doesn't allow gender-affirming surgeries for minors, state law does allow doctors at clinics like QueerMed to prescribe puberty-blocking medications and allows minors who are already receiving hormone therapy to continue taking them.
AG Paxton has requested medical records for Texas youth who used QueerMed dating back to January 1, 2022. However, Texas' ban on this care didn't go into effect until last year.
QueerMed's founder, Dr. Izzy Lowell, said they stopped serving youth in Texas following the ban, releasing this statement:
This request from the Texas Attorney General is a clear attempt to intimidate providers of gender-affirming care and parents and families seeking that care outside of Texas and other states with bans. Let us be clear: QueerMed will never, ever turn over HIPAA-protected patient information. We are not breaking any laws and we will continue to legally provide care in states that have not made the callous decision to put politics ahead of patient health. I am deeply saddened by the pain and suffering this is causing all transgender and nonbinary patients and families across the South.
Visiting professor and interim director of the Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice at Emory University School of Law, Alicia Hughes, explained that this kind of request is perfectly legal.
"The answer is absolutely yes. The. The attorney general's office can make the request. The extent to which the request that they're making must be honored becomes a different conversation. And when we start to look at what we're dealing with, you're talking about people's medical records. That's personal property. And we look in this country at property as essentially a bundle of rights. And this is a fundamental right," said Hughes.
She added that what we're seeing now is similar to what we've seen regarding the constitutional right to abortion.
"I'm concerned about the chilling effect that it will have on people seeking the care that they need and whether members of the American public, our citizens, feel safe... when people don't get treated, people become more unwell, and when they become more unwell, it shortens their lifespans and that creates bigger issues for society in general. Those are huge concerns," explained Hughes.
Jen Slipakoff, who is a mother of a transgender child, said clinics like QueerMed are few and far between, which is why she's worried about what this request could do to the existing providers.
"I think it is absolutely intimidating these providers. And I think that's sort of what these lawmakers are hoping to do. Not only do I think that they're hoping to intimidate these providers, I think that they're hoping to eradicate transgender people. I think they are trying to legislate trans youth out of existence," said Slipakoff.
The AG's office has not responded to our requests for comments, but QueerMed's founder did confirm this is the second time he's requested this information, with the initial request coming in on November 17.