Home Economy Government DOJ’s subpoena for Rhode Island Hospital’s private medical records of minors challenged

DOJ’s subpoena for Rhode Island Hospital’s private medical records of minors challenged

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PBN Staff

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05/04/2026

THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES Union of Rhode Island Inc. and the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island on Monday filed an emergency motion to block the U.S. Department of Justice’s subpoena seeking private medical records of minor patients who have received medical treatment for gender dysphoria at Rhode Island Hospital.

PROVIDENCE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. and the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island have filed an emergency motion to block the U.S. Department of Justice’s subpoena seeking private medical records of minor patients who have received medical treatment for gender dysphoria at Rhode Island Hospital. The motion was filed Monday

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PROVIDENCE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. and the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island have filed an emergency motion to block the U.S. Department of Justice’s subpoena seeking private medical records of minor patients who have received medical treatment for gender dysphoria at Rhode Island Hospital. The motion was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on behalf of Katelyn Medeiros, who oversees the R.I. Office of the Child Advocate. In the motion, both the ALCU and Lawyers’ Committee call the DOJ’s subpoena an unprecedented intrusion into the private medical information of children and claim the intervention is “immediately necessary ... to protect the constitutional privacy rights of Rhode Island’s children.” The DOJ’s subpoena was filed and approved on April 30 by a judge in Texas. The department sought the identities and complete medical histories of every minor patient who received medical care for gender dysphoria at Rhode Island Hospital over more than five years. In its motion Monday, the ALCU and Lawyers’ Committee point out that seven other courts across the country have quashed identical subpoenas issued to other providers of medical care for gender dysphoria. Their motion further explains that all major medical organizations recognize gender dysphoria – which occurs when there is a conflict between the sex a person is assigned at birth and the gender with which they identify – as a medical condition that can cause significant distress and that appropriate medical care can effectively treat, including in minors. The motion, which seeks an expedited court hearing, was made by Lawyer’s Committee cooperating attorneys Kevin Love Hubbard, Miriam Weizenbaum and Amy Romero and ACLU cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger on behalf of Medeiros. “Children in foster care navigate profound vulnerability and exposing their medical records compounds that harm. The medical records of these children contain private information that is protected under the law, which exists to safeguard confidentiality, privacy and the dignity of every patient,” Medeiros said “Safeguarding these records must remain a priority, ensuring that every child’s identity, medical record and personal health history are shielded from disclosure and treated with the highest standard of care and respect.”