The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department has issued sweeping subpoenas to hospitals providing care for transgender youth, demanding everything from billing records to patient Social Security numbers.
Pam Bondi, US Attorney General (DonkeyHotey/Flickr Creative Commons)One subpoena to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia even requested emails, text messages, and Zoom recordings dating back to 2020, well before any state banned gender-affirming care for minors. Attorney General Pam Bondi has publicly confirmed more than 20 such subpoenas, an unusual move given the department’s tradition of keeping active investigations quiet.
Critics argue that the subpoenas are part of an effort to build cases against providers who offer legal medical treatments in their states, framing those practices as potential violations of federal law. A former federal prosecutor told the Post the scope of the requests isn’t unusual for health-care fraud cases, but he emphasized that demanding patient identities is only lawful when tied to a legitimate investigation.
Editorial
Yet, as important as the details are, the bigger picture is what troubles me most. This nation faces two active wars of direct interest to our security, an economy weighed down by tariffs, and the steady advance of partisan gerrymandering that threatens to split us further apart. Against that backdrop, the administration’s priority is to go after the very small number of individuals who feel, with honesty and vulnerability, that their gender at birth does not align with who they are.
To my mind, it’s none of my business how transgender youth navigate their health, just as it’s none of the nation’s business. Those conversations belong within families, with doctors, and with trusted professionals, not in the offices of political appointees trying to score points with a base. Legal medical treatments should not be hauled onto the chopping block of the Justice Department simply because politicians disapprove.
We need serious people to tackle serious problems. Whatever one believes about gender identity, this much is clear: using the machinery of federal law enforcement to pursue a political agenda is misguided and a dangerous distraction from the challenges that truly threaten our future.
