People protest as the Supreme Court hears a case over banning gender procedures for minors in Washington on Dec. 4, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
A federal judge blocked prosecutors from forcing a Rhode Island hospital to turn over records related to gender treatments for minors who identify as transgender.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy quashed the subpoena, which targeted Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
“Specifically, the Court determines that DOJ’s request for intimate medical details from one of this country’s most vulnerable populations constitutes a drastic overreach of its investigative authority,” McElroy wrote.
She criticized the Justice Department, accusing federal prosecutors of misrepresenting and withholding information and engaging in forum shopping to seek a politically friendly court.
The DOJ didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
McElroy faulted the DOJ for seeking enforcement of the subpoena in Texas instead of Rhode Island, where the hospital and records were located. The DOJ said its multi-state investigation was centered in the Northern District of Texas, so the Texas court had jurisdiction.
The DOJ had served a subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital on July 3 and had not had a response in 10 months, according to a court filing.
The case involves the federal investigation into the distribution of certain prescription drugs to minors with gender dysphoria. These drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for some uses, but the agency has not determined that any of these drugs are safe or effective for the treatment of gender dysphoria, the DOJ stated.
The case originated from a health care fraud investigation that is examining how children in the United States received gender treatments.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 28, 2025, directing federal agencies to end support for gender treatments for minors. The order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” targeted treatments including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transgender surgeries for individuals under age 19.
The order instructed the DOJ to pursue litigation and enforcement actions involving providers and institutions involved in transgender medical care for children.
In the order, the administration argued that minors cannot fully consent to irreversible medical procedures and described gender-transition treatments as harmful experimental practices.
In July 2025, the DOJ stated that it sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children.
“Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice,” then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release.
Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 20 other attorneys general in an amicus brief supporting a motion to toss the DOJ subpoena against the Rhode Island hospital.
