**Texas to Appeal Ban on Transgender Health Care**
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday that the state will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocked a ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.
The ban, which was passed by the Texas legislature in 2021, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to transgender minors. The law also allows the state to investigate parents who provide their transgender children with such care.
In March, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg blocked the ban, ruling that it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Totenberg found that the ban is not narrowly tailored to serve a legitimate government interest and that it imposes an undue burden on transgender youth.
In a statement, Paxton said that the state will appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He argued that the ban is necessary to protect children from .
