Rhode Island resists Trump DOJ demand for trans youth records ordered by Texas judge

Rhode Island officials are refusing to turn over private medical records for trans youth to the Trump administration.

The Ocean State’s Office of Child Advocate has filed an emergency motion in federal court to quash a demand from the Justice Department seeking medical information for minors treated for gender dysphoria.

“The medical records of these children contain private information that is protected under the law, which exists to safeguard confidentiality, privacy, and the dignity of every patient,” said Child Advocate Katelyn Medeiros in a statement reported by the Rhode Island Current.

“When those protections are disregarded — especially for children — it is not merely a violation of the law but a breach of trust that could have profound lifelong consequences.”

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In this case, the Justice Department is seeking to enforce a court order from a federal judge in Texas that requests records from Rhode Island Hospital. That order is part of an investigation into possible violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act involving puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

The federal agency said Rhode Island must release “the identities and complete medical histories of every minor patient who received medical care for gender dysphoria at RI Hospital over more than five years.”

Rhode Island officials said the release of information on patients there would not only violate medical privacy but could expose a marginalized population to humiliation at the hands of the government.

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“In other words, for a population of children that already lacks trust in the legal and medical systems, DOJ now seeks unfettered access to everything from their Social Security numbers and addresses to the intimate details about their state of mind, their sexual orientation and gender identity, and the course of treatment they chose with their physician and custodians,” attorneys wrote in a court filing.

The demand is part of a broader effort by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump to obtain private medical information on patients receiving gender-affirming care nationwide.

Under since-fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department had demanded private medical information on patients under the age of 19 through a series of broad subpoenas issued last year.

Courts in some states have blocked that pursuit. A federal judge in Maryland denied access in January to records from Children’s National Hospital. Similarly, a federal court in Pennsylvania stopped the administration from obtaining patient records from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in November.