Second Circuit blocks DOJ grab for trans patient medical records

Judges denied the Justice Department's bid to stay a lower court ruling blocking the administration's efforts to seize the records.MANHATTAN (CN) — The Trump administration on Wednesday lost its latest attempt to get access to medical records for transgender young people who were treated at New York facilities.Judges in the Second Circuit denied the Justice Department’s bid to stay a lower court ruling blocking the administration’s efforts to seize, offering little explanation.“Upon due consideration, it is hereby ordered that the motion is denied,” wrote the panel, which included the Donald Trump-appointed U.S. Circuit Judges Richard J. Sullivan and William J. Nardini, and U.S. Circuit Judge Alison J. Nathan, a Joe Biden appointee.U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla ordered the preliminary injunction in July, after first granting a temporary restraining order to transgender patients and their families. The plaintiffs sued the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche after federal prosecutors sent grand jury subpoenas to more than 20 health facilities demanding information about gender-affirming care provided to trans youth since 2020.Failla, a Barack Obama appointee, found the plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm without the court’s action. They’re also likely to win claims against NYU Langone, a co-defendant and one of the facilities targeted in the government subpoenas, under New York confidentiality laws.Advocates and attorneys representing the plaintiffs celebrated the Second Circuit’s ruling.“The government cannot weaponize the legal system and the use of subpoenas, whether through a grand jury or otherwise, to collect the most private medical information of transgender young people and their families, in violation of the right to privacy guaranteed by our Constitution,” Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, said in a statement. “Every family should be able to make healthcare decisions without fear of political interference or exposure.”The patients — two young adults and three minors whose families are suing on their behalf — were all minors when they received gender-affirming care at NYC hospitals during the years in question. The federal government is seeking information including patients’ diagnoses, assessments and courses of treatment.In addition to Lambda Legal, the plaintiffs are backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union.President Donald Trump issued a Jan. 28, 2025, executive order declaring the U.S. “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support” gender-affirming medical care for minors.In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Justice Department’s civil division to investigate drug companies that make and distribute puberty blockers and sex hormones for potential violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, probing those businesses for “misbranding” by making false claims about on- or off-label uses of those drug therapies.“Even if otherwise truthful, the promotion of off-label uses of hormones — including through informal campaigns like those conducted by sales reps or under the guise of sponsored continuing medical education courses — run afoul of the FDA’s prohibitions on misbranding and mislabeling,” Bondi wrote.The subpoenas that followed have been met with lawsuits around the country asking the courts to test the limits of medical privacy laws. Federal courts have quashed or limited the scope of the subpoenas in several states.The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads