Patients at two Pennsylvania hospitals are asking a federal judge to stop the Justice Department from obtaining years of medical records related to gender-affirming care.
The Justice Department served subpoenas on the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which requested information on patients who were prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy since Jan. 1, 2020, according to court documents.
The Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia and the law firm Ballard Spahr are representing the patients and families, according to a Sept. 25 news release. The firms filed a motion to quash the subpoenas.
In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to restrict federal funding to healthcare organizations that provide gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 19. In June, the Justice Department launched investigations into clinicians providing gender-affirming care to minors.
In Massachusetts, a federal judge ruled Sept. 9 to block the Justice Department’s subpoena served on Boston Children’s Hospital. The subpoena sought medical records related to possible fraud and unlawful promotion of puberty blockers and hormones for gender-affirming care. The judge ruled the subpoena was improper and “motivated only by bad faith.”
