in Pennsylvaniatwo federal judges appointed by the president Barack Obama Currently at the heart of the fight over whether the US government can seize private medical records. Transgender Young people. Two lawsuits that fight and unfold in both Philadelphia Pittsburgh, Pitts family Hospitals against the Department of Justice raise fundamental questions about constitutional privacy, federal power, and the future of gender-affirming healthcare in the United States.
Related: FTC Host Anti-Trans Workshop LGBTQ+ supporters call it “Government sponsored disinformation”
The incident comes from a series of administrative subpoena issued by the Justice Department this summer as part of the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against gender-affirming care. The family and their lawyers are not trying to eradicate fraud as the government claims, but they are arguing to threaten fraud in order to threaten providers to care that are legal in Pennsylvania and supported by all major medical associations.
Two courts, two judges, one question
September 22nd, six families I submitted a motion to destroy it in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case comes before Judge Mark A. Carney, who joined the bench in 2014. September 24th, four families It brought parallel challenges In the western district. The case comes before Judge Cathy Bissoon, who has served since 2011. Both judges appointed by Obama will decide whether the Department of Justice can force hospitals to disclose private medical records of individual patients to the government.
Related: Doctors and clinics for Trump’s DOJ subpoena care for transgender youth
The subpoena will require extraordinary categories of information, including patient name, date of birth, Social Security number, home address, details of parents and guardians, and clinical notes documenting treatment decisions. It also requires intake forms, consent documents, and parental approval for adolescent blockers and hormone therapy. In fact, they cover all minors who have been treated for gender dysphoria in hospitals over the past five years.
July crackdown
Pennsylvania’s summons are part of a much larger national dragnet. July 9th, Ministry of Justice announcement Issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in what is known as “transgender medical procedures for children.” At the time, Attorney General Pamela Bondy said, “The medical professionals and organizations that hurt children in the service of distorted ideological matters will be held accountable by this Department of Justice.” All major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support gender-affirming care, safe and effective treatment based on evidence that is necessary and often life-saving.
The DOJ said the investigation focused on potential health care fraud and false statements, but advocates said they saw the announcement as evidence that the federal government is targeting providers because of the type of care they provide, rather than just legitimate fraud.
“If our constitution means anything.”
Mimi Mackenzie, legal director at the Public Interest Law Center, which represents families in both cases in Pennsylvania, said Supporters Subpoena must be understood as part of this larger strategy. “If our constitution means anything, it means that the federal government cannot overcome your child’s medical records to threaten you,” she said.
Mackenzie warned that the cold effect is already profound, even if the prosecution does not last. Philadelphia Children’s Hospital continues to treat patients while challenging court subpoena. However, UPMC announced on June 30 that it would no longer provide gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 19. “Families are scared because the government equates this care with child abuse,” Mackenzie explained. “Even if they’re not chasing, only intimidation will disrupt care.”
in Washington DCthe Federal Trade Commission quietly held a workshop on July 9th entitled “The Risk of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors.” The event has been widely criticized by public health experts LGBTQ+ Conservative medical voices arguing that advocates, framed anti-trans lawyers, so-called damaged activists, and care for trans youth can constitute unfair or deceptive practices. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson opened the workshop by denouncement of some of the establishment of healthcare for removing age minimums from treatment guidelines under political pressure. The event relocated gender care not as health care but as a potential consumer scam. Health policy experts have called the FTC event a “government sponsored disinformation campaign.”
A July DOJ press release, which issued the subpoena, repeated previous executive orders from the president Donald Trumpdirected the Attorney General to investigate gender-affirming care, including those referred to as protecting children from chemical and surgical amputations. The DOJ Guidance immediately directed the prosecutors to treat care as a form of child abuse and to work with the state attorney general in pursuing the case.
rear US Supreme Court Dominated over trans people Skrmetti This summer, we will allow state legislatures to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Tennessee We have implemented a complete ban on this care.
In April, the White House is known as the “ominous threat of gender ideology” and is one of the most common forms of child abuse in America.
Courts elsewhere began to be pushed back. Earlier this month, federal judges Massachusetts He beat the summons to Boston Children’s Hospital, calling them a “fishing expedition” and a malicious product. Pennsylvania families cite the ruling that DOJ’s campaign is legally vulnerable.
Beyond trans youth
This impact is far beyond Pennsylvania. The Third Circuit Court has long been aware of strengthening constitutional protections for medical, reproductive, and mental health records. If the government can request disclosure here, advocates warn, and medical relations are not safe from political targeting.
“There’s nothing more than courts and public pressure to stop the Justice Department from weaponizing it,” Mackenzie said. “What do they really stop, like other types of records of the group of people they hate (reproductive health, mental health, etc.?”
Kearney ordered the DOJ to respond to a Philadelphia family motion by October 6th. The Bissoon incident in Pittsburgh has only just begun. McKenzie said both courts are expected to move quickly, as the administrative subpoena assignments do in general.
For now, families pushing their case under the pseudonyms have emphasized that their fights aren’t just for their own children. It’s also about other people’s children.
“It’s important that trans young people and their parents know that there are people fighting for their constitutional rights to privacy,” Mackenzie said.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
