Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a strong legal opinion recently declaring that it was illegal for mental health providers to “transition” minors under the state's Senate Bill 14.

Senate Bill 14 went into effect in 2023, which banned healthcare providers from using gender-affirming care to treat gender dysphoria in adolescents, including the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries. 

Paxton said the state law also applies to “mental health care providers” licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, because they are still considered healthcare providers, and that the path to transitioning minors often starts with mental health care providers giving minors care that is allegedly intended to confuse them about their gender.  

“Any radical facilitating the ‘transitioning’ of our kids is committing child abuse,” Paxton said in a statement Monday. “The law is clear that these radical procedures are illegal and in no world should Texans’ tax dollars be used to permanently harm children. 

"This opinion should send a clear warning there will be consequences for any medical professional, whether a doctor or a therapist, who is illegally ‘transitioning’ Texas kids," he added.

Paxton added that any mental health provider who does help minors transition will not be allowed to receive public funding. 

The opinion comes one day before voters in Texas are expected to vote in the state's primaries, where Paxton is seeking the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, currently held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who is seeking reelection.