Texas AG Intervenes to Protect Dr. Mary Talley Bowden From Medical Board Punishment
The Texas Medical Board picked a fight with the wrong doctor.
This article originally appeared on Jon Fleetwood’s Substack and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Jon Fleetwood
“I am intervening in the case against the Texas Medical Board in support of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to ensure her lawful medical freedoms are protected,” AG Paxton declares.
In a massive win for health freedom and holding the medical establishment accountable, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has formally taken Dr. Mary Talley Bowden’s side against the Texas Medical Board, intervening in court on behalf of the State of Texas and refusing to defend the state’s medical regulator.
“Thank you @KenPaxtonTX for your support,” Dr. Bowden wrote in an X post. “This is a win for me, but more important, a win for patients. No one should have to sue to get a second opinion, hospitals should not have the power to defy court orders, and doctors should not be targeted for trying to help their patients. Texas has been captured by the medical mafia, but this is a step in the right direction.”
On February 12, the State of Texas, through AG Ken Paxton, filed an “Original Petition in Intervention” in Travis County district court, aligning the full weight of the Attorney General’s Office with Bowden and asking the court to declare the Board’s public reprimand against her “void as a matter of law.”
Rather than representing the Texas Medical Board—the customary role of the Attorney General—Paxton’s office entered the case as Intervenor-Plaintiff, directly opposing the Board.
“I am intervening in the case against the Texas Medical Board in support of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to ensure her lawful medical freedoms are protected,” Paxton wrote in a Thursday X post.
The AG’s filing opens with forceful language:
“The Texas Medical Board (‘TMB’), acting on nothing more than personal animosity and spite, imposed a public reprimand against Mary Talley Bowden, M.D. without following their own published protocols and in violation of the laws of this State.”
The State says it is intervening:
“to protect and defend the citizens of this state from improper conduct of the Texas Medical Board, defend the laws of this State, and to prevent irreparable harm to its sovereignty.”
That language elevates the dispute beyond a licensing matter.
The State is asserting that the Board’s conduct threatens constitutional protections and Texas sovereignty itself.
The reprimand stems from Bowden’s October 2021 prescription of ivermectin to a critically ill COVID-19 patient after the patient’s family obtained a Temporary Injunction ordering the hospital to grant her emergency privileges to administer the medication.
An appeals court later stayed that injunction, though Bowden has maintained she was never informed.
In its intervention, the State argues the sanction fails legally because:
It was imposed “without the benefit of any medical expert testimony”
The Board labeled Bowden’s conduct “intentional” despite her reliance on “both a court order and advice of counsel”
The alleged aggravating factors “fail as a matter of law”
The Board speculated she “may repeat” the conduct in the future—a conclusion the State calls unsupported
The filing also accuses the Board of ignoring due process, alleging Bowden and her counsel were provided a “non-operating link” to attend the sanctions hearing remotely and that the Board “obstinately refused to remedy the error prior to voting on sanctioning Dr. Bowden.”
The petition concludes:
“The laws of this State, the Texas Constitution and the United States Constitution aim to prevent the astounding miscarriage of justice to which Dr. Bowden has been subjected by TMB and demand an immediate reversal of the sanction imposed by the Texas Medical Board.”
The State is asking the court to declare the reprimand void and permanently bar further disciplinary action related to the incident.
This is no longer simply Dr. Bowden versus the Texas Medical Board.
It is now the State of Texas, led by Attorney General Ken Paxton, siding with Bowden against its own medical establishment.
The case remains pending in the 419th Judicial District Court in Travis County.
Copyright 2025 Jon Fleetwood
