Judge blocks Trump administration’s subpoena of trans kids’ medical records from Boston hospital
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration s attempt to subpoena biological records of transgender patients who received gender-affirming care at Boston Children s Hospital In a ruling on Tuesday U S District Judge Myong Joun noted the administrative subpoena served by the U S Department of Justice was improper and motivated only by bad faith The Justice Department reported the information was needed to investigate practicable fraud or unlawful off-label promotion of drugs but the information requested including actual victim records seemed to be unrelated the judge explained Phone messages left with the Justice Department s attorney Ross Goldstein and with a Justice Department community affairs officer were not at once returned The Administration has been explicit about its disapproval of the transgender locality and its aim to end GAC Joun wrote referring to gender-affirming care The judge later continued It is abundantly clear that the true purpose of issuing the subpoena is to interfere with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts right to protect GAC within its borders to harass and intimidate BCH to stop providing such care and to dissuade patients from seeking such care Just eight days after taking office President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at restricting access to health care for transgender youth In June the Justice Department s Civil Division broadcasted the division would use all available information to prioritize investigations of doctors hospitals pharmaceutical companies and other appropriate entities in an effort to investigate what it called radical gender experimentation Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed in a report July that the Justice Department had sent more than subpoenas to doctors and clinics that provide care to transgender patients under Bondi disclosed the requests were part of investigations into healthcare fraud false statements and more But the requests did not just seek information on policies or billing practices they also demanded information about individual patients who had been prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy Boston Children s Hospital appealed the federal court to quash the subpoena on July saying the Justice Department was seeking practically every document related to the provision of gender-affirming care over the past five and a half years including highly sensitive and personally identifiable information about young patients But the Justice Department contended the subpoena was proper and a valid way for the agency to investigate feasible violations of off-label prescription drug rules Gender-affirming care includes a range of physiological and mental healthcare services to aid a person s gender identity including when it s different from the sex they were assigned at birth It may include counseling medications that block puberty hormone therapy to produce physical changes or surgeries to transform chests and genitals although those are rare for minors Majority of major curative groups say access to the medicine is crucial for those with gender dysphoria and see gender as existing along a spectrum At least states have adopted laws restricting or banning the care for minors while several others have adopted laws or policies protecting access to transgender strength care Massachusetts state constitution protects the right to gender-affirming care the judge noted making it tough to understand exactly what the Justice Department was trying to investigate Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this story Source
