New York University's Langone Health received a federal grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice seeking information about minor patients who received gender-affirming care, according to a statement posted on their website Monday evening.
This is the first known criminal probe by the Justice Department to obtain private medical data about transgender children receiving gender-affirming care, as the Trump administration escalates attacks on trans rights.
NYU Langone said in the statement that it received a subpoena on May 7, and that it was one of several medical institutions that had received grand jury subpoenas from the United States attorney for North Texas. The DOJ is also seeking the names of hospital employees who provided gender-affirming care.
The Trump administration has long tried to obtain medical records of trans youth, as have other state officials, including Texas, but this is the first known use of a grand jury.
NYU Langone notified parents of transgender youth aged 18 and under about the grand jury subpoena.
“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers, and others,” the webpage states. “Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena.”
New York law prevents the disclosure of medical records related to gender-affirming care and abortion with a few exceptions. However, it “broadly prohibits” law enforcement and state officials from complying with investigations into gender-affirming care that was provided within the state.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the grand jury subpoena.
This criminal probe comes after a conservative federal judge in Texas denied a Rhode Island Hospital’s request to halt a separate DOJ subpoena seeking invasive information about pediatric gender-affirming care.
The DOJ has so far issued more than 20 subpoenas to hospitals and clinics providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth across the country since last year. As a result, more than 40 hospitals, including NYU Langone, have halted gender-affirming care for young patients, citing the subpoenas.
But multiple federal judges have halted these efforts. One Massachusetts judge said the agency’s investigation into Boston Children’s Hospital was “motivated only by bad faith.”
Some Republican state officials in Texas and Tennessee have similarly sought records about transgender youth. Last week, Tennessee codified data requests into law, requiring clinics that receive state funds to detail sensitive medical information about adult transgender patients in a public record to the state legislature.
