Court Cases | American Civil Liberties Union

Question 1

What impact does the grand jury subpoena have on Plaintiffs and their families?

Accepted Answer

Although the subpoena is directed at NYU, it demands the personal health information and records of patients without any good faith law enforcement basis. Transgender minors, young adults, and their parents are understandably terrified that their private information and sensitive medical records will be turned over to the government, potentially exposing them to future targeting and harassment.

Question 2

Is DOJ directly targeting families with transgender children?

Accepted Answer

The main target of DOJ’s efforts here are hospitals and healthcare providers, as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to harass and intimidate them into stopping providing care. There is no indication that DOJ is investigating individual patients or families at this time. DOJ claims that it is investigating healthcare offenses relating to branding, labeling, and billing, and it has set forth a range of theories as to how this may be the case. But DOJ has provided no plausible explanation for why it needs the identity of patients and their families in order to investigate alleged healthcare offenses by hospitals and providers. Of course, this does not erase that the subpoenas are part of the Administration’s relentless attacks against transgender people and impact the families of transgender youth deeply.

Question 3

Who are the plaintiffs in this lawsuit?

Accepted Answer

We represent three families with minor adolescent children and two young adults who received gender-affirming medical care as minors at hospitals in New York City during the years targeted by the subpoena. We are also asking the court to certify a class of all impacted patients and families who received care at healthcare institutions in New York City and whose identities and medical records are being sought.

That class is defined, using the language describing gender-affirming care from the subpoena, as:

"All individuals who received any medical treatment for gender dysphoria, including any medical, surgical, pharmaceutical, or clinical intervention that is intended or reasonably expected to suppress, alter, or eliminate endogenous pubertal development, or to modify primary or secondary sex characteristics, for the purpose of aligning with or affirming a minor’s asserted gender identity rather than the minor’s birth sex, while they were under eighteen years of age, from January 1, 2020, through May 5, 2026, at a healthcare institution located in New York City, including NYU Langone Hospitals (and any other NYU entity) and Mount Sinai Health System."

Question 4

What if I (or my child) received this medical care from another hospital?

Accepted Answer

At this time, we only have confirmation of two grand jury subpoenas—one sent to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford in California and the one sent to NYU Langone. Because it is possible that other healthcare institutions in New York City, including Mount Sinai Health System, received a similar or identical grand jury subpoena, the relief sought is intended to extend to anyone who received gender-affirming medical care as a minor in New York City between 2020 and 2026. If you received care outside of New York City, then this lawsuit does not explicitly cover your circumstances, but the case may be helpful in future litigation if more grand jury subpoenas are or were sent to other health institutions outside of New York City.

Question 5

What are the legal arguments being made against these grand jury subpoenas?

Accepted Answer

Plaintiffs are arguing that the subpoena violates their right to informational privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, as well as their right to be free from unreasonable invasions of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. Plaintiffs are also arguing that NYU’s potential compliance with the subpoena would be in violation of New York State’s doctor-patient privilege law.

Question 6

What can families do to access care for their kids?

Accepted Answer

This is a terrifying time for families with transgender children and for transgender adults. People across the country are uncertain about the future of their needed medical care. For now, this medical care is still lawful and available for young trans people in over half the country and parents should be coming up with backup plans to ensure that their children are not left without treatment if a medical institution unexpectedly ends the provision of this medical care.

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