November 22, 2025 – In a victory for transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers, a federal court in Philadelphia granted a motion to quash the subpoena issued by the Department of Justice seeking extremely sensitive medical records from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In June, as one part of a broader attack on the rights of transgender Americans, the Trump Administration sought the medical records of every patient who received gender-affirming care at Children’s Hospital since January 2020. The records being sought were 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.
Children’s Hospital sought to quash the parts of the subpoena which sought sensitive patient information and their identities. In September, young patients and their parents, represented by the Public Interest Law Center and Ballard Spahr, filed their own motion, urging the court to block the subpoenas, arguing that they were filed in bad faith and invaded children’s right to privacy.
Because the court ruled on Children Hospital’s behalf, it had no need to rule on the motion filed by the patients, dismissing it as moot.
The court found first that the “children’s records concern lawful medical practice governed by Pennsylvania law,” and that the government “lacks statutory authority for a rambling exploration of the Hospital’s files to learn the names and medical treatment of children.”
Next, the court affirmed that the patients’ constitutional right to privacy overrode the department’s interest in obtaining the records, finding that “children’s and their families’ privacy interests in their highly sensitive and confidential medical and psychological treatment in a charged political environment . . . far outweigh” the government’s need for the records
“This is a critical win for everyone who believes healthcare decisions should be made in doctors’ offices, not the White House,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center. “In a sweeping rebuke of DOJ, the Court rejected the government’s overreach and saw its conduct for what it is: an effort to invade the privacy rights of vulnerable children and their parents in order to intimidate them. Our Constitution does not allow that. We are pleased that the rule of law prevailed.”
In its decision, the Court also noted the “wayward reasoning” and shifting rationale of the government throughout the course of the litigation and reminded the government – who at one point suddenly replaced sworn statements in one declaration – that “false statements may be subject to a perjury investigation.”
“Our clients have a measure of the safety and respect they deserve,” said Jill Steinberg of Ballard Spahr. “Transgender kids and their families should know that the law protects them too. For these children and other vulnerable populations, your rights matter, and you do not have to fight these battles alone.”
The court’s ruling follows similar decisions by federal courts in Massachusetts and Washington, where the Trump administration issued the same subpoenas.
