California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined 18 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief opposing the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to subpoena records related to gender-affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital. The brief was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, urging the court to uphold its previous decision to quash the DOJ’s subpoena.
Attorney General Bonta stated, “From President Trump to the U.S. Department of Justice, the entirety of the federal government is attacking gender-affirming care — even in states, like California, that support the rights of transgender youth to live their lives as their authentic selves. We will not bow down to any of those unlawful actions, no matter where they are happening. We are asking the federal district court in Massachusetts to, once again, reject the Trump Administration’s subpoena seeking information related to gender affirming care. The records sought by the U.S. Department of Justice are outrageously expansive and seek to intimidate those providing and receiving gender-affirming care.”
The DOJ’s subpoena, issued on June 11, sought a wide range of sensitive information, including personnel records for nearly all hospital employees and extensive patient data such as social security numbers and home addresses. The federal judge who reviewed the case voided the subpoena on September 9, finding that it was an attempt to interfere with Massachusetts’s authority to protect gender-affirming care and to intimidate both providers and patients.
The attorneys general argue in their brief that the federal government is attempting to discourage medical providers from offering necessary care to transgender youth, even in states where such care is legal and protected. They also challenge the DOJ’s new interpretation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which would prohibit medical providers from prescribing FDA-approved medications for off-label uses. According to the brief, if this interpretation were accepted, it could put many medical practitioners at risk of criminal charges for providing standard treatments, as a significant portion of medications prescribed for children are for off-label uses.
California and other states represented in the brief have enacted laws to safeguard access to gender-affirming care and protect providers and patients from civil or criminal penalties imposed by other jurisdictions.
In addition to California, the attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin joined in submitting the amicus brief.
