LGBTQ groups and elected officials gathered at Tweed Courthouse in lower Manhattan on May 13 to demand stronger protections for gender-affirming care after NYU Langone said it received a federal subpoena seeking records of minors who received gender-affirming care at the hospital dating back to 2020.
“Donald Trump’s abuse of legal process to harass minors who received gender-affirming care in New York and their families is an absolute outrage,” out Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said. “Thanks to our Shield Law 2.0 passed last year, New York law enforcement and courts are prohibited from enforcing subpoenas or warrants related to legal gender-affirming care in New York. Manhattan must and will remain a safe haven for trans youth.”
NYU Langone said it received the grand jury subpoena from the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas on May 7. The hospital made the announcement in accordance with New York State’s shield law, which stipulates that any entity that receives a request for legally protected health activity must attempt to notify the subjects of the inquiry at least 30 days before complying with such a request.
Ryan Raybould, the US attorney for the Northern District of Texas, previously clerked for anti-LGBTQ District Court Judge Reed O’Connor and was Texas Senator John Cornyn’s chief counsel.
“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers, and others,” NYU Langone said in its announcement of the subpoena. “Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena. We will post updates at this website.”
The subpoena comes less than three months after NYU Langone shut down its youth gender-affirming care program, citing “the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment.” NYU Langone and other private hospitals drew outrage early last year in response to reports that they curtailed gender-affirming care for youth and some adults following an executive order by the Trump administration.
The rally at Tweed Courthouse featured a mother named Mirah who has a trans child. Mirah spoke about how she moved to New York from Texas to be in a more inclusive environment for her child.
“No young person should have to wonder whether seeking healthcare will place a target on their back,” said Councilmembers Chi Ossé of Brooklyn and Justin Sanchez of the Bronx, who co-chair the City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus. “The Trump administration’s grand jury subpoena of NYU Langone Health is state-sanctioned harassment, using the machinery of federal law enforcement as a weapon against transgender youth, their families, and the doctors who care for them. But New York has made clear that gender-affirming care is legal, protected, and supported here, and the LGBTQIA+ Caucus will continue standing firmly against politically motivated efforts designed to undermine those protections. We will continue fighting for a city where transgender people can access affirming healthcare, live openly, and exist without fear of government persecution.”
Many New York-based LGBTQ advocates spoke out at the rally, including Amanda Babine, the executive director of Equality New York; Clark Wolff Hamel, the executive director of PFLAG NYC; and Kei Williams, the executive director of New Pride Agenda. The rally was organized by the NYC Trans & Queer Coalition, with support from Equality New York, PFLAG-NYC, NEW Pride Agenda, and Trans formative Schools
“New York enacted Shield Law 2.0 precisely because we knew that hostile states and the Trump administration would weaponize the legal system against providers and patients of gender-affirming care,” Williams said. “The law exists to protect medical privacy and shield healthcare institutions, patients, and providers from lawfare campaigns seeking to criminalize medically necessary healthcare. NYU Langone has both the legal protections and the moral obligation not to comply.”
