Justice Dept. Subpoenas NYU Hospital to Demand Medical Records for Trans Youth

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas has issued the first known criminal subpoena directed at a health care institution for offering gender-affirming care to transgender youth — at NYU Langone, a hospital situated almost 2,000 miles away in the greater New York City area.

The notification was sent to patients (and/or parents) via their online portal just after 7pm on May 11, as per screenshots obtained by Erin in the Morning. In a public statement, Langone indicated there were other health care institutions that received this kind of subpoena, too.

“We are writing to inform you that on May 7, 2026, NYU Langone Hospitals (”NYULH”) was one of several institutions that received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas,” the notification reads.

“Among other requests, the subpoena directs NYULH to provide information pertaining to patients under the age of 18 who received gender affirming care at NYULH between 2020-2026, as well as the names of NYULH providers and others who were involved in offering such care at NYULH in that timeframe.”

It continues: “Pursuant to the New York State Shield Law, any entity in New York State that receives a request for information regarding legally protected health activity, such as the provision of reproductive health care or gender-affirming care, must make a reasonable attempt to notify the individuals to whom that request pertains at least 30 days before complying with or providing information in response to the request.”

“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers, and others,” it concluded. “Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena.”

Almost two dozen hospitals or clinics have received subpoenas from the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration targeting young trans patients.

But this is a dire escalation. Those were administrative subpoenas — meaning the cases were civil in nature. But this round of subpoenas entails a criminal case, meaning providers or hospital officials face risk of arrest and jail time. It does not appear to target parents of trans kids or trans patients.

News of the subpoena also means the federal government has assembled a grand jury, an important step towards criminal proceedings.

At the same time, New York has strong Shield Laws to protect providers from out-of-state prosecution. That same policy is what mandated the notification sent to patients and/or parents. It is unclear what information, exactly, the DOJ requested; whether this includes personally identifiable data on patients, such as names, or whether the requested information can be anonymized; nor does the statement indicate what crime the federal government alleges Langone committed.

The hospital may try to fight the subpoena, in whole or in part, in court — but because the federal government is strategically pursuing the case in one of the most conservative courts in the country, Langone faces an uphill battle. This round of litigation could also put the efficacy of Shield Laws to the test.

“This is a blatant unlawful effort by the [Department of Justice] to intimidate providers of gender affirming care to trans youth by engaging in judge and forum shopping,” Alejandra Caraballo, a Harvard Law instructor and legal scholar told Erin in the Morning.

“They are allegedly investigating actions by NYU that took place in New York City and yet using a grand jury in a rural Texas courtroom to send these subpoenas. There is no low that this Justice Department won’t stoop to in an effort to abuse the justice system to persecute their political enemies.”

In April, the Trump Administration filed in that same Texas district court in an attempt to force a Rhode Island hospital to hand over patient data to federal authorities.

Gender-affirming care remains legal in New York; in fact, it benefits from robust protections against federal encroachment. Attorney General Letitia James condemned hospitals that caved over the last year for rolling back gender-affirming care over Trumpian threats, on the grounds that in doing so they were discriminating against transgender New Yorkers.

Neither NYU Langone nor Attorney General Letitia James immediately responded to a request for comment.