Lawyers for the Child Advocate for the State of Rhode Island yesterday urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston to uphold a district court ruling that protects transgender young people treated at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) from the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) demand for their private medical records.
The federal government brought the appeal after U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy blocked the subpoena in May. Judge McElroy found that the DOJ’s subpoena lacked a congressionally authorized purpose, was issued for an improper purpose, and that the records the government sought could not be obtained consistently with the children’s constitutional privacy rights. The court quashed the subpoena and prohibited the DOJ from seeking or receiving patient-identifying information or protected health information produced in response to the subpoena. The circuit court will now decide whether to uphold the motion to quash.
On April 30, the DOJ sought and obtained judicial approval for the subpoena of the complete medical records for minors receiving gender-affirming medical care at RIH from a judge in Texas without the Hospital’s advance knowledge or ability to respond. On May 4, lawyers for the Child Advocate for the State of Rhode Island quickly intervened by filing an emergency motion in Rhode Island to block the subpoena and protect the privacy rights of the children. The RI Child Advocate is represented by attorneys from the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, the ACLU of Rhode Island, and Democracy Forward.
As lawyers for the Child Advocate told the district court, the records “contain the most intimate details imaginable.” The motion to quash was granted by Judge McElroy on May 14, in an order in which she found that “DOJ’s request for intimate medical details from one of this country’s most vulnerable populations constitutes a drastic overreach of its investigative authority.”
Diana Robbins, Assistant Child Advocate for Rhode Island said, “Upholding this decision affirms that the privacy and dignity of children involved in the child welfare system—and of all children—must be protected. No child should have to choose between receiving vital medical care and protecting their most personal information. Safeguarding the confidentiality of children’s medical records is essential to preserving their dignity, maintaining their trust, and safeguarding their well-being.”
The appeal yesterday was argued on behalf of the Child Advocate by Lawyers’ Committee for RI attorney Kevin Love Hubbard.
“We are proud to defend the privacy rights of transgender youth, and to stand up for them against a federal government that has relentlessly targeted trans people,” said Kevin Love Hubbard of the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, who argued on behalf of the Child Advocate. “We went to court to protect those rights and won, and it was an honor to argue that the First Circuit should uphold that victory.”
A copy of the briefs and other information about the case can be found here.
