FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2025
Contact: Anna Sophie Tinneny, astinneny@pubintlaw.org, 267-546-1304 ext. 224
Young Patients and Parents Ask Courts to Quash Department of Justice Subpoenas for Medical Records
PHILADELPHIA – Several young patients and their parents have asked federal courts in Pennsylvania to quash sweeping subpoenas issued by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking years’ worth of medical records of every patient under the age of 19 who received gender-affirming care from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).
The records being sought are deeply personal, containing medical information about these young patients’ mental, sexual, and reproductive health, along with personally identifying information, including their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.
The subpoenas also call for Children’s Hospital and UPMC to turn over other administrative records, such as employee information and billing records.
The patients and their families are represented by the Public Interest Law Center and the law firm Ballard Spahr.
“Patients and their parents have a constitutionally protected right to privacy in these types of records,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director at the Public Interest Law Center. “And courts have consistently recognized this. Releasing these records would pose great harm to patients and their families—particularly given the current social and political climate. The Trump administration is weaponizing the Department of Justice to intimidate health care providers and families and to attack this evidence-based care.”
While the department generally has the authority to investigate health care providers, the patients and families say that the subpoenas are overly broad and seek highly sensitive documents that are unnecessary for an investigation.
In addition, President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have publicly expressed their hostility to transgender people and this care. A federal court in Massachusetts recently quashed an identical subpoena issued to Boston Children’s Hospital, finding that the government is acting in bad faith.
“This action is intended to safeguard the most sensitive information of children and their families to ensure that it remains private,” said Jill Steinberg, a partner in Ballard Spahr’s Litigation Department. “We should be cautious about how our institutions are used, especially when their actions could affect vulnerable communities.”
Hospitals provide this care to adolescents following a comprehensive assessment conducted by a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals, who work in close consultation with the patient and their parents or legal guardians to determine an individualized course of treatment.
Every major medical and mental health association in the United States recognizes this health care as evidence-based, safe, and appropriate treatment for adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria. The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance also advises insurers that, in order to comply with Pennsylvania antidiscrimination law, “it is anticipated that a[n insurance] policy will not exclude services based on gender identity and will not contain a categorical exclusion of coverage for all health services related to gender transition.”
Read the filings seeking to quash the subpoenas to UPMC and Children’s Hospital.
###
About the Public Interest Law Center
The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to advance the civil, social, and economic rights of communities in the Philadelphia region facing discrimination, inequality, and poverty. We use litigation, community education, advocacy, and organizing to secure access to fundamental resources and services. www.pubintlaw.org
About Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr—an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 750 lawyers in 18 U.S. offices–has a longstanding commitment to pro bono representation for individuals and organizations in need of legal services, in areas as diverse as civil rights advocacy, legal clinics for veterans in need of wills and other legal documents, and low-income individuals in a spectrum of civil and criminal matters. The firm lawyers and professionals provide more than 50,000 hours annually to ensure that clients have a voice and a legal advocate, regardless of their ability to pay. Visit https://www.ballardspahr.com/about/pro-bono.
