Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Gov. Josh Shapiro has entered the legal fight between the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and President Donald Trump’s administration over a federal subpoena seeking the private medical records of transgender youth. In a new court filing, Shapiro argues that states — not the federal government — are legally empowered to regulate the practice of medicine, and Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to usurp state laws that license and oversee doctors. “Permitting DOJ to demand the confidential health information of hundreds of patients based on manufactured justification would erode the trust between doctors and patients and undermine state efforts to use their regulatory authority to protect that trust,” the filing says. Shapiro made the argument in a legal document, called an “amicus curiae” or “friend of the court” brief, in which a judge permits a third party can weigh in on a case if it has a strong interest in the outcome. The legal brief, filed Tuesday in federal court in Philadelphia, was submitted on behalf of Shapiro and the attorneys general of 14 other states, including New Jersey and Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The DOJ did not immediately reply Tuesday to a reporter’s request for comment. The federal court gave the DOJ until Nov. 4 to respond to the amicus brief. Earlier this year, the DOJ sent sweeping subpoenas to CHOP and at least 19 other hospitals nationally that are under scrutiny for treating transgender youth. The Trump administration is targeting gender-affirming care for minors, characterizing it as chemical mutilation and child abuse. The subpoenas sparked legal opposition playing out in federal courts in Pennsylvania and across the nation. In Philadelphia, U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney is now weighing whether to grant a motion filed by CHOP seeking to limit the scope of the federal subpoena to protect patient privacy. CHOP runs one of the nation’s largest clinics providing medical care and mental health support for transgender and gender-nonbinary children and teens and their families. Each year, hundreds of new families seek care at CHOP’s Gender and Sexuality Development Program, created in 2014. The DOJ subpoena seeks patient names, Social Security numbers, and addresses, as well as every communication by doctors — emails, Zoom recordings, voicemails, and encrypted text messages — dating back to January 2020. Federal officials say a key focus is how doctors are prescribing puberty blockers and hormones “off-label,” meaning for a condition not specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Once a drug is approved by the FDA, it is legal for doctors to prescribe it to treat other conditions that could benefit from the medication. Off-label prescribing is a common and widely accepted medical practice, especially in pediatrics. Gender-affirming care for children and adolescents has been deemed medically appropriate by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other major medical and mental health organizations. Research shows young people with gender dysphoria suffer higher rates of suicide, self-harm, depression, and anxiety. Gender dysphoria is a medical condition in which a person’s body does not match their gender identity. “If enforced, DOJ’s subpoena to CHOP would threaten all states’ ability to regulate the practice of medicine,” writes Shapiro and the 15 attorneys general. “It is part of an effort to end a specific type of care for a particularly vulnerable population, even though there is no federal law prohibiting such care.”
