TL;DR
- Trump administration tried to subpoena trans kids’ medical records from Boston Children’s Hospital.
- Judge Myong Joun blocked it, calling it “bad faith.”
- The subpoena sought years of sensitive patient data.
- Department of Justice claimed it was probing fraud but offered no real link.
- The ruling protects trans youth’s rights and privacy in Massachusetts.
Judge Torpedoes Trump’s Attempt to Snatch Trans Kids’ Medical Files
In a dramatic courtroom takedown, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to subpoena the private medical records of transgender children who received gender-affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital. Judge Myong Joun didn’t mince words, blasting the Department of Justice’s subpoena as “motivated only by bad faith” and “an effort to intimidate and harass.”
The DOJ had claimed it was investigating possible healthcare fraud or off-label drug promotion, but Joun wasn’t buying it. The subpoena demanded virtually every document about gender-affirming care over the past five and a half years — including the actual patient records of minors. “The Administration has been explicit about its disapproval of the transgender community and its aim to end GAC,” Joun wrote, using the acronym for gender-affirming care. “It is abundantly clear that the true purpose of issuing the subpoena is to interfere with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ right to protect GAC within its borders, to harass and intimidate BCH to stop providing such care, and to dissuade patients from seeking such care.”
Political Powerplay Meets Parental Panic
This legal fight traces back to one of Donald Trump’s earliest moves after returning to office — an executive order eight days in, aimed at restricting medical care for trans youth. By June, the DOJ’s Civil Division had gone full throttle, announcing it would use “all available resources” to investigate what it branded “radical gender experimentation.”
Then came Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, who in July proudly announced more than 20 subpoenas targeting doctors and clinics that treat transgender minors. The subpoenas didn’t just seek policies or billing records — they demanded names, prescriptions, and intimate details of kids receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy. It was a chilling attempt to turn doctors into informants and turn vulnerable kids into case files.
But Boston Children’s Hospital wasn’t having it. The hospital went to federal court to quash the subpoena, arguing it was a blatant overreach that violated medical privacy and put patients at risk. Judge Joun’s ruling agreed, protecting not just the hospital but every young trans patient who deserves to see a doctor without wondering if the government is lurking behind the exam room door.
A Victory Echoing Beyond Massachusetts
Gender-affirming care — which can include counseling, puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and rarely surgeries for minors — is endorsed by nearly every major medical group as critical for youth with gender dysphoria. Still, at least 27 states have passed laws restricting or banning it, while several, like Massachusetts, have enshrined protections.
This ruling doesn’t just shut down a single subpoena — it sends a message. Trans kids are not political pawns, and their medical privacy isn’t up for grabs. In a political climate that’s turned their existence into a battleground, this decision carves out a rare, crucial win for dignity and safety.
For the LGBTQ community, especially trans youth, the decision is a powerful reminder: the courts can still be a shield, not just a sword. And for every queer teen sitting in a doctor’s office right now, wondering if they’re safe — today, they are.