In a sharp rebuke to Washington’s latest push against transgender healthcare, a federal judge in Boston has blocked the Justice Department’s attempt to dig into Boston Children’s Hospital’s records.
The subpoena, part of a sweeping Trump administration effort to scrutinize providers of gender-affirming care for young people, was struck down as overly broad and politically driven.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, himself an immigrant who often speaks about America’s promises of inclusion, ruled that the demand for documents had less to do with legitimate investigation and more with intimidating hospitals, patients, and doctors. “The government may not wield subpoena power as a fishing net,” Joun wrote, warning that the true aim was to undermine Massachusetts’ protections for transgender care.
Boston Children’s Hospital, one of the country’s leading pediatric centers, welcomed the decision, calling it a victory for patient privacy and for the clinicians who provide care. The Justice Department stayed silent on the ruling.
The case marks the first known instance of a federal court halting the administration’s crackdown on medical providers serving transgender minors. Since January, Trump’s executive order has stripped federal support for transition-related healthcare, followed by Attorney General Pam Bondi directing probes into clinics and pharmaceutical companies supplying puberty blockers and hormones.
Boston Children’s had been hit with a subpoena in June, but its lawyers argued the demand was issued not to uncover fraud or misconduct, but to advance a political campaign against a form of treatment that remains legal in Massachusetts. Judge Joun agreed, noting the government sought an “astonishingly” vast set of documents without offering even a hint of wrongdoing.
For now, the hospital stands shielded, while the broader national battle over transgender healthcare shows no sign of cooling.
