New York, New York - A federal judge on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump's Department of Justice to stop seeking the sensitive and personal medical records of transgender youth.
Claiming that gender transition treatments are hurting adolescents, the DOJ has for months been seeking personal medical records from hospitals and organizations providing care to young people.
On Wednesday, Manhattan Federal District Judge Katherine Polk Failla expressed concern that a grand jury subpoena against NYU Langone, which sought to acquire information about patients, was far too broad in scope. As a result, she blocked the order.
Failla argued that adolescent patients had "sought gender affirming treatments under a reasonable assumption to absolute privacy." She said it was unclear why the government even needed the data in the first place.
"I cannot conceive of a crime that would require the breadth of disclosure sought in the subpoena," Failla said in a ruling she handed down via a conference call.
"Identifying and sensitive medical information for an entire class of people… I have to find that the government's interest does not outweigh the plaintiffs' interest in privacy," she said.
"If not enjoined, the subpoena would allow the government to obtain and disclose the most intimate details of plaintiffs' medical histories and personal lives – in particular, their transgender status."
Of concern to Failla was the potential emotional harm inflicted on patients if their private information were provided to the DOJ, and the impact this could have on trust in medical professionals and institutions.
The DOJ has not responded to requests for comment about the ruling from multiple news outlets.
Since Trump's inauguration last year, his administration has repeatedly attacked the transgender community. In May, a Rhode Island judge issued a similar ruling which blocked an "unsettling" request for trans kids' hospital records.