Maryland Attorney General Joins Multistate Effort Against Federal Subpoena for Gender-Affirming Care Records

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in an amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The filing opposes a motion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider a previous court ruling that quashed a subpoena for records related to gender-affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital. The subpoena sought sensitive medical records of patients and information about providers offering this care.

The attorneys general argue that the federal government’s actions are an attempt to intimidate medical providers from offering critical and medically necessary care to transgender youth. They contend that the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as interpreted by the DOJ, is being used to potentially criminalize routine medical practices, including the use of approved medications for off-label purposes. Such a broad interpretation, they warn, could place practitioners in fields like pediatrics and oncology at risk of conviction for providing evidence-based treatments.

This multistate opposition comes in response to the DOJ’s administrative subpoena issued to Boston Children’s Hospital, which sought a wide range of confidential documents concerning its provision of gender-affirming care. This included personnel records for numerous employees and extensive patient data. A federal judge had previously invalidated the subpoena, deeming it an effort to interfere with Massachusetts’s ability to protect gender-affirming care and to deter patients and providers from engaging in such practices. The Trump administration has since filed a motion to have this ruling overturned.

The attorneys general filing the brief emphasize that their respective states, including Maryland, have enacted laws and policies to protect transgender residents, particularly youth under 19. Maryland, for instance, has established rights to access gender-affirming care and provisions to shield individuals who receive or provide such care from penalties originating from out-of-state jurisdictions. The coalition, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, includes attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

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