The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a legal settlement with parents of trans children who sued after the DOJ issued a subpoena to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), demanding the medical information of 3,000 young patients who had received puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

The initial subpoena, sent to 20 medical providers last year, demanded the young patients’ addresses, Social Security numbers, medical diagnoses, prescriptions, all documents affirming any parental authorization to receive gender-affirming care, and other information. The DOJ said that its subpoenas sought to prevent healthcare fraud and “off-label” use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat youth gender dysphoria, though the same medications have been safely used for decades to treat precocious puberty and rare cancers in children.

Related

Federal judge slams DOJ’s attempt to “intimidate & harass” trans patients & hospitals

Last November, seven parents sued the DOJ to protect their families’ private medical information. The January 22 settlement agreement allows CHLA to redact “at a minimum” all information on any patients and family members, including all names, addresses, birthdates, and any numbers related to Social Security, healthcare accounts, telephones, vehicles, email addresses, license plates, and internet locations. The agreement also prohibits the DOJ from issuing additional, similar subpoenas from CHLA until 2029.

The CHLA hasn’t provided any of the subpoenaed documents to the DOJ, and the DOJ has never produced any evidence of healthcare fraud or harm to youth from gender-affirming healthcare, despite the current presidential administration’s dishonest and vilifying claims. The parents have moved to have the entire subpoena revoked.

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

“It was basically a fishing expedition,” said Khadijah Silver, director of Gender Justice & Health Equity at Lawyers for Good Government, one of the firms representing families in the class action lawsuit, according to CalMatters. “Without any probable cause, [the DOJ] did not have the authority to be seeking medical information.” 

Numerous federal courts have issued recent rulings against the subpoenas, saying that they amount to an attempt to intimidate and harass medical providers with no real judicial purpose.

Despite the legal victory, CHLA closed its Center for Transyouth Health and Development last July under pressure from the U.S. president — the center was the largest of its kind in the United States. The president’s executive order pledged to illegally withhold congressionally approved federal funding from any medical institutions that provide gender-affirming care.

Numerous gender-affirming clinics for youth have shut down nationwide in response to the administration’s threats, including Phoenix Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and others.

Gender-affirming care is supported by all major medical associations in the U.S., including the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as safe and life-saving for young people with gender dysphoria. A recent study following young trans patients for a decade found that 97% of trans youth don’t regret transitioning.

The administration’s “toxic” war on gender-affirming care

Though there is no federal law banning gender-affirming care, the current presidential administration has sought to eradicate the practice through a January executive order (that has since been blocked by several courts). The order instructed the DOJ to extend the time that patients and parents can sue gender-affirming doctors and to use laws against false advertising to prosecute any entity that may be misleading the public about the long-term effects of gender-affirming care.

In April, Bondi issued a memo to DOJ employees, telling them to investigate and prosecute cases of minors accessing gender-affirming care as female genital mutilation (FGM), even though hospitals don’t conduct such female genital surgeries. The memo threatened to jail doctors for 10 years if they provide gender-affirming care to young trans people.

Additionally, the DOJ sought information about the providers’ employees and their correspondence with pharmaceutical manufacturers, marketing departments, and sales representatives, as well as other sensitive information dating back to January 2020.

Fewer than 3,000 teens nationwide receive puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy, according to a 2025 JAMA analysis of private insurance data.

One doctor interviewed by The Washington Post called the federal government’s crusade against gender-affirming care a “toxic plan” that will force some patients to detransition, potentially forcing them into adverse psychological and physical effects, including increased anxiety, depression, and the development of unwanted physical changes.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.