Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening legal action against Houston Methodist Hospital, claiming the hospital may have denied organ transplants to unvaccinated patients in violation of a new state law.

In a letter sent Monday, Paxton directed the hospital to clarify whether its policies comply with House Bill 4076, which took effect on September 1 and prohibits health care providers from refusing organ transplants or related services solely because a patient chose not to receive a COVID-19 or other vaccination. Paxton’s office said Methodist has fourteen days to respond or face a formal investigation.

“Texans looking to receive medical care should never be turned away due to arbitrary COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by woke medical providers,” Paxton said in a statement. “Vaccine mandates as a precondition for certain life-saving treatments may not only violate new state laws that became effective on September 1, but they also violate human dignity and run contrary to foundational principles of medical ethics.”

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Paxton shared the announcement on social media, writing, “NEW: I’m warning Houston Methodist Hospital over alleged COVID-19 vaccine mandates for organ transplant patients. Texans looking to receive medical care should never be turned away due to arbitrary COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by woke medical providers.”

The post drew swift responses from doctors aligned with the Medical America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement in Texas. Dr. Peter McCullough, a prominent critic of vaccine mandates, replied, “Fatal Acute Rejection 12 Days after Heart Transplant 52 Days after Sputnik Light Vaccine … COVID-19 vaccination not medically necessary, not clinically indicated, and unsafe for organ transplant recipients.”

Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, another physician long at odds with Houston Methodist, responded, “I offered to drop my lawsuit against Houston Methodist if they would accept an unvaccinated mother of 7 into their transplant program. Never heard back.”

Bowden also posted a video purporting to show a phone call with someone who apparently works in Methodist’s transplant center, in which the caller allegedly confirms that some patients are refused transplants based on vaccination status. It was not immediately clear when this video was recorded.

Houston Methodist, however, has denied the allegations. A hospital spokesman told the Houston Chronicle that it is following state law and “does not have a policy requiring transplant patients be vaccinated against COVID-19, or any other disease, and does not deny care based on vaccination status.”

The confrontation comes months after Houston Methodist reignited its legal dispute with Bowden, a former physician at the hospital who has become one of its most vocal critics. Methodist is pursuing an additional $26,000 in fees from Bowden despite cashing a settlement check meant to end a years-long defamation dispute stemming from her opposition to the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine policies, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.

Bowden has claimed that Houston Methodist retaliated against her for questioning vaccine mandates, while the hospital’s communications team has insisted that their lawyers are making “an attempt to compel Dr. Bowden to do what is right and pay the entirety of … [the hospital’s legal fees].” The dispute has played a role in her simultaneous battle with the Texas Medical Board, DX reported.

Paxton’s latest move signals that the state’s top law enforcement office is now turning its attention back toward Methodist’s COVID policies — this time under the weight of new state law. Houston Methodist has until October 27 to provide a written explanation of its compliance. Failure to respond, the Attorney General’s Office said, will trigger a “formal investigation.”