August 10, 2026- The Department of Justice informed a federal appeals court today that it is withdrawing its appeal of a district court ruling that quashed a subpoena seeking patient information related to the gender-affirming care clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. As a result, that district court ruling is final.

The records that the Trump administration sought would have included minor patients’ personal and medical information related to mental and reproductive healthcare. Represented by the Public Interest Law Center and the law firm Ballard Spahr, several patients and their families challenged the subpoenas, leading a federal district court in Pittsburgh to rule in their favor, describing the government’s conduct as “unprecedented” and its rhetoric reflecting “callous indifference, if not abject cruelty.”

“The children we represented, their families, and all minor patients from UPMC’s gender-affirming care clinic can now rest easy that their personal information will not be exposed to a hostile administration,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center. “That’s a win for patients. But it came with a great cost. They faced the possibility of harassment from the federal government and the fear that their private healthcare records would be in the hands of people who think that transgender and nonbinary people shouldn’t exist. And that’s not speculation; that’s based on the statements of Trump’s own people, including the then-attorney general. In seeking these records, the administration’s goal was to scare patients from seeking this healthcare and intimidate providers from offering it.”

“Our clients can breathe easier with this litigation behind them,” said Henry E. Hockeimer, Jr., partner in Ballard Spahr’s Litigation Department.

While the subpoena case is now over, the patients’ attorneys warned that the Trump administration has been reaching settlements with healthcare providers around the country, including in Ohio, Connecticut, and Texas, in which the providers agree to end gender-affirming care and even create so-called “de-transition” clinics.

“Around the country, the Department of Justice has been reaching agreements with healthcare providers to end gender-affirming care and prop up ‘de-transition’ clinics, at a cost of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. We hope UPMC does not make that same mistake,” McKenzie said. “Gender-affirming care is legal in Pennsylvania, and gender-based discrimination is not. UPMC must follow the law and not cave to a hostile administration.”

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