Despite R.I. court decision, Texas judge demands medical records of trans youth by Tuesday
PROVIDENCE — A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, is demanding Rhode Island Hospital still hand over the medical records of transgender children and teens, despite an order from a Rhode Island judge last week blocking a subpoena from the Department of Justice.
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Judge Reed O’Connor ordered Monday that Rhode Island Hospital turn over the records to him, rather than the DOJ, by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. That would not violate Rhode Island Judge Mary McElroy’s decision against the Trump administration, O’Connor wrote in an order Monday, as long as he does not share the records with the Justice Department.
O’Connor said the court would hold the records privately until the appeals in the case are exhausted. He demanded that the records be turned over on USB flash drives.
The unusual move comes amid conflicting orders in the Trump administration’s battle to tamp down on gender-affirming care for children across the country. The original subpoena from the Department of Justice demanded five years of medical records that included the names of children and teens treated for gender dysphoria, as well as their addresses, medical diagnoses, treatments, and their parents’ names.
O’Connor also ordered Rhode Island Hospital not to “cooperate” with any other entities that are seeking to block the subpoena. The Rhode Island Child Advocate’s office had initially asked McElroy to squash it.
“I have never seen an order like this,” said Kevin Love Hubbard, an attorney for the Child Advocate’s office.
That office, led by Katelyn Medeiros, successfully sought to block the subpoena, arguing it violated the constitutional rights of the children and teens who would be outed as transgender to the federal government.
The Department of Justice said they were seeking the records because of an investigation into doctors prescribing “off-label” puberty blockers to minors. It is not illegal to prescribe drugs off-label, but the DOJ said it was looking into whether the doctors coordinated with pharmaceutical companies, which could be a violation of federal law.
After Rhode Island Hospital didn’t comply, the DOJ asked the Texas judge to enforce the subpoena on April 30, which he did the same day.
The DOJ said the underlying criminal investigation is taking place in Texas, which is why it was filed there. Multiple other federal courts, including in Boston, have blocked efforts to get the records from other hospitals.
The Child Advocate’s office, which said it found out about the subpoena from a press release from the Justice Department, quickly moved to block it in Rhode Island federal court. The office represents children and teens in state custody, some of whom are receiving treatment related to gender dysphoria.
McElroy tore into the Justice Department last week, accusing them of misleading O’Connor and trying to get the order enforced in a “friendly forum,” rather than in Rhode Island, where the records are located.
She slammed the subpoena as “drastic overreach” by the government and said it was issued in “bad faith” for an “improper purpose,” rather than a legitimate law enforcement investigation.
The Trump administration has called gender-affirming care for minors “child abuse” and repeatedly sought to stop it.
McElroy avoided directly reversing O’Connor’s order — both are lower court judges — but said by quashing the subpoena, there was nothing left for him to enforce.
O’Connor, in turn, said he was not violating McElroy’s order against the Justice Department if he obtained the records himself.
“In light of the parallel litigation, pending appeals, conflicting court orders, and RIH’s refusal to produce responsive documents, the court finds it necessary and prudent for RIH to turn over all responsive documents compliant with the court’s enforcement order,” O’Connor wrote.
He criticized Rhode Island Hospital for failing to challenge the subpoena in court in the first place, accusing the hospital system of first failing to comply with it, then trying to circumvent the Texas court by going to Rhode Island court.
“Such flagrant attempts to avoid compliance with lawful orders leads the court to conclude that it is necessary to hold the materials responsive to the subpoena in camera pending the outcome of the appeals,” O’Connor said.
The Justice Department is appealing McElroy’s decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
Rhode Island Hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would turn over the records to the Texas court.
Hubbard said the Child Advocate’s office would look into what legal recourse they have to make sure the records were not released.
“The child advocate is not a party to the Texas proceeding and never has been,” Hubbard said. “The child advocate has an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of children in Rhode Island. The Texas court never considered those rights.”
“We intend to continue fighting to protect those constitutional rights,” Hubbard said.
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