A federal prosecutor demanded NYU Langone Health disclose information about children who received gender-affirming care and any staff members involved in their treatment, via a subpoena sent earlier this month.
In the May 7 subpoena, the U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District of Texas told NYU Langone to comply with the request by 9 a.m. on June 10 as part of a federal criminal investigation. It asked for records “sufficient to identify” each patient under 18 who received gender-affirming care from Jan. 1, 2020, to May 5, as well as the names of any NYU Langone employees involved in these cases.
Under New York state law, NYU Langone must try to inform the affected patients at least 30 days before responding to demands for their legally protected medical information. The medical center said it was “one of several institutions” to receive the Texas office’s subpoena in a May 12 statement addressed to patients.
“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers and others,” the statement read. “Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena.”
On Saturday, politicians and LGBTQ+ rights activists — including New York City Councilmember Harvey Epstein and Kei Williams, who leads the advocacy group New Pride Agenda — held a rally in Washington Square Park urging NYU Langone to ignore the subpoena. It followed a May 13 demonstration in front of Tweed Courthouse, where protesters held signs reading “GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE IS LIFESAVING HEALTHCARE” and “RESPECT PATIENTS. PROTECT PROVIDERS.” to condemn the Texas prosecutor’s demands.
NYU Langone canceled all gender-affirming care for minors in February — discontinuing its program that provided puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender youth — and citing the “current regulatory environment” amid the Trump administration’s funding threats. Despite the New York attorney general’s office demanding the medical center resume gender-related treatment, threatening “further action” if it failed to do so by March 11, the program remains shut down.
“Private medical records should never be weaponized as punishment for seeking lawful healthcare,” Attorney General Letitia James said in an X post responding to the subpoena.
In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas to more than 20 doctors and hospitals that treated transgender youth, claiming to investigate “healthcare fraud, false statements and more.” Last month, a federal judge in the same northern Texas district moved to enforce a subpoena on Rhode Island Hospital, demanding it disclose records on gender-affirming care to minors.
“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,” Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said at the May 13 protest. “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.”
An NYU Langone spokesperson did not respond to WSN’s request for comment.
Contact Zachary Karp at [email protected].