Texas Senate candidate Talarico faces questions after fundraising with surgeon who previously performed gender surgeries on minors

James Talarico, a Texas state representative and Democratic candidate challenging Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat, is facing scrutiny over a fundraising event held days after he stated publicly that he opposes gender reassignment surgeries for minors. Talarico is running what polling has described as a competitive race to flip a Texas Senate seat.

The June fundraiser, billed as "Pride for Talarico," featured Dr. Dustin Reid, a plastic surgeon who practices at Restora Austin Plastic Surgery Centre and specializes in female-to-male top surgery. Reid confirmed to Fox News Digital that he previously performed such surgeries on minors on a "case-by-case basis," describing the practice as "rare but not completely unheard of." He said he no longer performs those procedures in compliance with Texas law. Reid's practice website states it follows WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) standards of care for patients under 18.

Reid told Fox News Digital that "a total ban on anything in medicine can be problematic," and that while the bar should be higher for gender-affirming surgeries in minors, an outright ban was not always the right answer because "there were times where on a case-by-case basis it was the right thing for the patient." WPATH's Standards of Care include conditions under which surgical treatments for adolescents may be recommended, including documented gender incongruence and demonstrated emotional and cognitive maturity.