When the US Justice Department sought information from doctors and clinics that provide gender-affirming care for young transgender patients, officials weren't just asking for policies. They also demanded information about individual patients, the AP reports. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a statement July 9 that the department had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics that provide the care. The request represented an elevation in the Trump administration's effort to halt the medical treatment for transgender youth, even in states where it's legal. Bondi said the requests were part of investigations into "healthcare fraud, false statements, and more." No charges have been announced so far, but the probes have had a chilling impact on the availability of care.
Specifics of the requests were not made public until a court filing in a separate lawsuit this week and were first reported by the Washington Post. Advocates say the requests are invasive and unnecessary. "It turns doctor-patient confidentiality into government surveillance," said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law's senior director of Transgender and Queer Rights. The subpoena sent to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on June 11 was included in a legal filing Monday in challenges from the states of Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington to the administration's attempts to bar the treatment for patients under age 19.
The 18-page document demanded an expansive list of documents be provided. Among them: Documents to identify "by name, date of birth, social security number, address and parent/guardian information" patients who were prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy. It's not clear whether subpoenas sent to other providers were identical. Elizabeth Gill, an ACLU lawyer, said that several hospitals are challenging the subpoenas, though most are doing it under seal. (Meanwhile, the Alaska State Medical Board on Friday is set to consider language that would deem doctors who perform gender-affirming care of minors "grossly negligent.")
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
