DALLAS — A Dallas pediatrician who was the first doctor sued under Texas’s ban on gender-transition care for minors has surrendered her medical license, according to state records.
Dr. May Lau, an adolescent medicine physician previously affiliated with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, voluntarily gave up her license this month after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit last year accusing her of prescribing testosterone to minors.
The Texas Medical Board confirmed the surrender was made at Lau’s request. Lau’s attorney, Craig Smyser, said in a statement that “Dr. Lau decided to move her medical practice to Oregon and saw no reason to continue to maintain her Texas license.” Smyser added, “Dr. Lau continues to deny the Texas Attorney General’s politically- and ideologically-driven allegations.”
Paxton, who brought the case under Senate Bill 14, called Lau’s surrender “a major victory for our state.” In a statement, he said, “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. We will not relent in holding anyone who tries to ‘transition’ kids accountable.”
Passed in 2023, SB 14 prohibits physicians from prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to minors for gender transition. The law also requires the Texas Medical Board to revoke the license of any physician found in violation.
The lawsuit accused Lau of prescribing testosterone to at least 21 patients aged 14 to 17 to transition their biological gender or affirm their gender identity. Paxton also alleged that Lau falsified records by inserting a puberty blocker device into a 15-year-old and billing insurance under an endocrine disorder rather than gender dysphoria. He sought $1 million in civil penalties and costs.
In her defense, Lau argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over her because she did not practice medicine in the county where the attorney general filed the suit. “Dr. Lau continues to contend that the court has no jurisdiction over her,” the statement read.
Lau’s departure from Texas follows a broader exodus of doctors who specialize in gender-affirming care, according to Equality Texas communications director Johnathan Gooch. “When the government is consistently attacking services that are specifically provided to trans people, it emboldens … a small group of anti trans vigilantes to harass people on the streets, in the bathrooms, at the doctor’s office,” Gooch said.
The case against Lau was the first under SB 14, but not the last. Shortly after her lawsuit, Paxton filed similar actions against Dr. Hector Granados, an El Paso endocrinologist, and Dr. Brett Cooper, another Dallas pediatrician.
The state later dropped its case against Granados after determining he had stopped providing gender-affirming care before the law took effect. Cooper’s case, however, remains active and is set for trial in May. His attorneys have accused Paxton of releasing “misleading and defamatory statements” that could influence potential jurors.
Paxton’s actions have drawn both praise and criticism. Jonathan Covey, policy director of the conservative group Texas Values, said his organization supports the attorney general’s efforts. “We’re grateful for the Texas Attorney General’s leadership in protecting kids from these harmful treatments and procedures,” Covey said in a news release.
The Texas Medical Association declined to comment directly on Lau’s case but said that physicians are expected to comply with state laws.
As Texas continues to enforce its ban on transgender medical treatments for minors, experts say access to care — even for adults — is becoming increasingly limited. Advocates warn that these restrictions are creating both financial and emotional challenges for transgender people across the state.
