Gov. Josh Shapiro blasts DOJ for trying to seize young trans patients' private medical records
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/gov-josh-shapiro-blasts-doj-for-trying-to-seize-young-trans-patients-private-medical-records/ 🔗Daniel Villarreal (30 Oct 2025)
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) submitted a court filing on Tuesday opposing President Donald Trump's attempt to obtain the private medical records of transgender youth from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Shapiro said that complying with Trump's attempts would erode "trust between doctors and patients," violate his state's right to regulate healthcare, and achieve another step in Trump's quest to end gender-affirming care (GAC) for trans youth despite there being no federal law against it.
In June, Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) sent subpoenas to 20 medical providers who offer GAC to trans youth. Under the pretense of finding evidence of healthcare fraud, the DOJ demanded patients' Social Security numbers, emails, home addresses, and information on the care they received. Additionally, the DOJ sought information about the providers' employees and their correspondence with pharmaceutical manufacturers, marketing departments, and sales representatives, as well as other sensitive information dating back to January 2020.
In an "amicus curiae" (or "friend of the court") brief, Shapiro wrote, "Permitting DOJ to demand the confidential health information of hundreds of patients based on manufactured justification would erode the trust between doctors and patients and undermine state efforts to use their regulatory authority to protect that trust," The Inquirer reported.
