{"id":668,"date":"2026-05-18T23:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T23:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=668"},"modified":"2026-05-18T23:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T23:04:16","slug":"despite-r-i-court-decision-texas-judge-demands-medical-records-of-trans-youth-by-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=668","title":{"rendered":"Despite R.I. court decision, Texas judge demands medical records of trans youth by Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=666\">Justice Dept. announces $1.8 billion fund in settling IRS suit<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Judge Reed O\u2019Connor 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\u2019s decision against the Trump administration, O\u2019Connor wrote in an order Monday, as long as he does not share the records with the Justice Department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>O\u2019Connor 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The unusual move comes amid conflicting orders in the Trump administration\u2019s 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\u2019 names.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>O\u2019Connor also ordered Rhode Island Hospital not to \u201ccooperate\u201d with any other entities that are seeking to block the subpoena. The Rhode Island Child Advocate\u2019s office had initially asked McElroy to squash it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI have never seen an order like this,\u201d said Kevin Love Hubbard, an attorney for the Child Advocate\u2019s office. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Department of Justice said they were seeking the records because of an investigation into doctors prescribing \u201coff-label\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After Rhode Island Hospital didn\u2019t comply, the DOJ asked the Texas judge to enforce the subpoena on April 30, which he did the same day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Child Advocate\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>McElroy tore into the Justice Department last week, accusing them of misleading O\u2019Connor and trying to get the order enforced in a \u201cfriendly forum,\u201d rather than in Rhode Island, where the records are located.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>She slammed the subpoena as \u201cdrastic overreach\u201d by the government and said it was issued in \u201cbad faith\u201d for an \u201cimproper purpose,\u201d rather than a legitimate law enforcement investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=664\">Water taxis and a Fenway tour: Mass. Democrats woo DNC officials in bid to host 2028 party convention<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The Trump administration has called gender-affirming care for minors \u201cchild abuse\u201d and repeatedly sought to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>McElroy avoided directly reversing O\u2019Connor\u2019s order \u2014 both are lower court judges \u2014 but said by quashing the subpoena, there was nothing left for him to enforce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>O\u2019Connor, in turn, said he was not violating McElroy\u2019s order against the Justice Department if he obtained the records himself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn light of the parallel litigation, pending appeals, conflicting court orders, and RIH\u2019s refusal to produce responsive documents, the court finds it necessary and prudent for RIH to turn over all responsive documents compliant with the court\u2019s enforcement order,\u201d O\u2019Connor wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSuch 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,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Justice Department is appealing McElroy\u2019s decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rhode Island Hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would turn over the records to the Texas court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hubbard said the Child Advocate\u2019s office would look into what legal recourse they have to make sure the records were not released.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe child advocate is not a party to the Texas proceeding and never has been,\u201d Hubbard said. \u201cThe child advocate has an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of children in Rhode Island. The Texas court never considered those rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe intend to continue fighting to protect those constitutional rights,\u201d Hubbard said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=662\">FAA says better scheduling can address air traffic control staffing issues<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The judge ordered that the medical records from Rhode Island Hospital be given directly to him, rather than the Department of Justice, after a R.I. judge blocked the DOJ&#8217;s subpoena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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