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Trans New Yorkers sue to block Trump admin access to healthcare records
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jun 2, 2026
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jun 2, 2026
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A group of trans New Yorkers asked a federal judge on Tuesday to block NYU Langone Health from sharing their sensitive health information with the Trump administration.
The class-action lawsuit, filed against the hospital system and the U.S. Department of Justice, was brought on behalf of trans youth who had been treated at NYU Langone.
NYU Langone announced last month that it was one of several healthcare institutions subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney for Northern Texas for information on minors who had received treatment for gender dysphoria over the past six years.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues the subpoena violates patients’ Constitutional rights to privacy and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
It contends that compliance by NYU Langone would also breach physician-patient confidentiality under New York law. It further asks the court to bar the DOJ from pursuing such information.
The plaintiffs include three trans minors, who are suing through their parents, and two trans adults who received care at NYU Langone.
They hail from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Poughkeepsie and Manhattan and received services including puberty blockers, chest masculinization surgery and birth control to suppress menstruation.
The Trump administration has issued similar subpoenas in the past, which have also faced challenges in court. But this was the first grand jury subpoena issued as part of a criminal case.
The DOJ declined to comment last month on why it was requesting this information and did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the New York Civil Liberties Union, the subpoenas are part of a broader “systematic campaign” by the Trump administration to end gender-affirming medical care and exclude trans people from public life.
A copy of the grand jury subpoena was included in the lawsuit. The DOJ gave NYU Langone until June 10 to produce 17 categories of records related to what the Trump administration referred to as “sex-rejecting” procedures for minors.
The records requested include insurance claims and patient communications, as well as complete personnel files for anyone who was authorized to provide or even bill for those procedures.
NYU Langone has not said whether it will comply with the request and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon.
NYU Langone discontinued its Transgender Youth Health Program in February after the Trump administration threatened to pull funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors.
The health system has not responded to a directive by the state attorney general to resume that care to avoid violating New York’s antidiscrimination laws.
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Health and Science
NYU langone
new york
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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