The Department of Justice (DOJ) is requesting sensitive patient information from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors. This includes details like dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and home addresses, as stated in a recent subpoena.
A specific subpoena was issued to the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital in June. According to a report that surfaced this week, the DOJ is seeking “all writing or records of any type” related to hormonal therapies, puberty blockers, and gender transition surgeries for minors, covering communications like voicemail, emails, and encrypted messages from January 2020 onward.
The inquiry also requests documentation about the clinical reasons and diagnoses that led to the use of puberty blockers or hormone therapies, along with informed consent documents from the child’s parent or guardian, patient intake forms, and parental approvals.
Additional items sought include personnel files, training manuals, insurance claims, communications between hospital staff and drug manufacturers, and interactions with sales representatives of medications intended for treating gender discomfort in minors.
In July, the DOJ mentioned that over 20 subpoenas have been tied to investigations into “healthcare fraud, false statements, etc.” regarding pediatric transgender medical procedures.
Attorney General Pam Bondy commented that “the medical professionals and organizations that have served children under misguided ideological conditions will be held accountable” by the DOJ.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has been actively working to roll back protections concerning gender and treatment for minors. An executive order issued roughly a week into his second term aims to cut federal support for transition-related care for children and teens up to 19. Some federal judges have intervened, blocking aspects of these orders that withheld funding from hospitals.
Another executive order directly targets transgender individuals, asserting that the U.S. recognizes only two genders—male and female—and broadly prohibits federal funds from supporting what it labels “gender ideology.”
In June, the FBI reached out to the public, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent letters to nine hospitals seeking information on “medical interventions in child gender treatments.” These efforts were part of a push to report any hospital or practitioner involved in providing transition-related surgeries to minors.
CMS administrator Mehmet Oz referenced a report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during this communications rollout.
According to a roughly 400-page review released by HHS, there is a recommendation to favor psychotherapy over medical interventions for addressing gender discomfort among youth. HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is encouraging healthcare providers to update their regulations and protocols in line with the report’s recommendations.
More than half the states have enacted laws banning gender-affirming care for minors. In June, the Supreme Court supported Tennessee’s law against this type of treatment, emphasizing it does not constitute gender discrimination.
