Trump admin admits defeat in attempt to get trans kids' medical recordshttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/admin-admits-defeat-in-attempt-to-get-trans-kids-medical-records/ 🔗Alex Bollinger (11 Aug 2026)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its appeal in a Pennsylvania case where the adminsitration sought access to the private medical records of transgender children.
"Our clients can breathe easier with this litigation behind them," said attorney Henry Hockeimer, whose firm represented the patients and their families fighting to keep their private medical records from being handed over to federal government prosecutors.
At issue is a subpoena the DOJ issued to UPMC last year demanding the private medical records. The Trump administration has been subpoenaing hospitals all over the country for the past year to get trans kids' medical records. The administration wants these records to search for a reason to prosecute health care providers, even in states that don't ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. Administration officials have used this tactic to pressure hospitals to stop providing gender-affirming care or even pay for "de-transition clinics."
In December 2025, US District Judge Cathy Bissoon quashed the DOJ subpoena in Pennsylvania, calling out the DOJ's "incendiary characterization" of gender-affirming care as proof of the department's "ill-intent."
"The Court is uncertain whether the general public is aware of how broad the government's campaign is against transgender people," she wrote at the time, citing a litany of examples. She called the DOJ's actions "unprecedented" and said that its arguments showed "callous indifference, if not abject cruelty" towards trans people.
The DOJ appealed the decision but dropped the appeal this week with no explanation.
