AG Bonta on Friday joined 17 other attorneys general and one governor in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The brief opposes the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ)’s subpoena for patient records from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) related to gender-affirming care. In the brief, AG Bonta and the coalition argue that the subpoena violates patients’ privacy, undermines states’ rights to regulate the practice of medicine, exceeds U.S. DOJ’s statutory authority, and aims to intimidate providers into closing their gender-affirming care programs. 

“The Trump Administration continues to attack the privacy of transgender adolescents by subpoenaing confidential medical records. U.S. DOJ’s flagrant overreach undermines states’ rights to ensure their residents receive effective health care from providers they can trust. U.S. DOJ has severely misinterpreted federal law in a manner that harms doctors’ freedoms to provide treatment their expertise deems most appropriate, across all fields of medicine, beyond just gender-affirming care. We will continue to defend Americans’ privacy and their ability to access safe, high-quality care.” – AG Bonta