A federal judge in Rhode Island has blocked the Justice Department from enforcing a sweeping subpoena that sought broad categories of records from Rhode Island Hospital concerning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In a written order issued Wednesday, District Judge Mary McElroy concluded prosecutors had acted in bad faith and that compelling the hospital to turn over the material would infringe on the privacy rights of minor patients.
The subpoena, issued to the hospital operated by Brown Health, requested a wide array of documents, including medical records of minors treated for gender dysphoria with medications such as puberty blockers. Rhode Island Hospital and the state's child advocate petitioned the court to intervene before a Thursday compliance deadline after a judge in Texas - at the request of the Justice Department - had ordered the hospital to produce the requested materials.
McElroy rejected the Justice Department's representation that its inquiry was focused on alleged off-label use of drugs that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She determined that forcing the hospital to comply would run afoul of privacy protections for minor patients and was not justified by the government's stated investigative purpose.
“DOJ has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case,” McElroy wrote. She added that "the discrepancy between the honorable conduct expected of federal prosecutors and DOJs tactics in this case is unsettling."
The dispute is one element of a broader federal initiative to scrutinize gender-affirming care for minors. According to the court record, the Justice Department has issued similar subpoenas to multiple healthcare providers; some of those demands have been narrowed or quashed by other courts.
Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending federal funding or support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth and described such care as a "dangerous trend." That order also directed the Justice Department to prioritize investigations into these treatments. LGBT rights organizations and leading medical associations, as referenced in the filings, support gender-affirming therapies as important to the well-being of transgender youth.
Following judicial setbacks in various forums, the Justice Department shifted certain parts of its investigative activity to northern Texas, a tactic Judge McElroy characterized as forum shopping. A judge in Texas had previously ordered Rhode Island Hospital to comply with the subpoena sought by federal prosecutors.
In a related development, federal prosecutors in Texas issued a grand jury subpoena this week to NYU Langone Health seeking information on gender-affirming care for minors, the filings indicate. That move came shortly before McElroy's decision blocking compliance by the Rhode Island institution.
Because the court found the Justice Department had misrepresented aspects of its investigation and had pursued the subpoena in a way that risked violating patient privacy, McElroy's order prevents enforcement of the demand while the legal fight continues.