A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from obtaining medical records tied to transgender patients treated at New York City hospitals as part of a federal investigation into gender dysphoria treatments.
The Hill reported that U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted a temporary restraining order sought by several transgender patients and their families, preventing federal prosecutors from seeking, receiving, using, retaining, or sharing identifying or sensitive patient information while the case proceeds.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups on behalf of three families with transgender youth and two transgender young adults who began treatment as minors.
The dispute stems from subpoenas issued in May to NYU Langone Hospitals under the authority of a federal grand jury in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Justice Department sought records identifying patients who received treatment for gender dysphoria before age 18 between January 2020 and May 2026.
According to court filings, the subpoenas were issued as part of a Food and Drug Administration investigation involving drugs used in gender-related medical treatments.
Failla ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that the subpoenas violated constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures as well as doctor-patient confidentiality rights recognized under New York law.
The judge also approved the plaintiffs' request to pursue the case as a class action.
The class includes individuals who received treatment for gender dysphoria at New York City hospitals, including NYU Langone and facilities within the Mount Sinai Health System, between January 2020 and May 5, 2026.
Failla said during Wednesday's hearing that at least 40 individuals treated at NYU Langone alone fall within the scope of the subpoenas.
Under the ruling, hospital employees are barred from disclosing or producing identifying or sensitive health information covered by the case.
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ and HIV Rights Project, welcomed the decision.
"For the past year, the Trump administration has not only decided that it knows better than these families and their doctors what their medical needs are, but has also sought to obtain troves of sensitive information about patients in New York," Strangio said.
"We will continue to fight on behalf of these families and the fundamental liberty of all transgender New Yorkers and those who come here to seek needed medical care."
Failla scheduled a July 8 hearing to consider whether a longer-lasting preliminary injunction should be issued.
Another related transgender rights case saw a different outcome last Thursday as a federal appeals court blocked California from enforcing part of a 2024 law that limits when school employees can tell parents about a student's gender identity or expression at school.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said seven Huntington Beach-area parents who challenged the law are likely entitled to receive information from schools about their children's gender-identity issues while the case proceeds.
The law, signed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2024, bars school districts from requiring employees to disclose a student's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression without the student's consent.