A conservative federal judge in Texas ordered Rhode Island Hospital to produce private medical records of transgender children in Rhode Island. The order conflicts with a federal judge in Providence that sought to protect those records. Rhode Island Hospital must comply by midnight Central Time Tuesday. The Texas judge also directed the hospital not to cooperate with efforts to block the Department of Justice subpoena that began the dispute. A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump criticized the DOJ subpoena as drastic overreach and issued in bad faith, saying prosecutors misled the Texas judge and sought a workaround in a friendly forum. The Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate represents children in state custody receiving treatment related to gender dysphoria and appealed the subpoena to protect constitutional rights.
"Judge Reed O'Connor wants to get his hands on the private medical records of transgender children in the Ocean State, essentially sidestepping the intentions of another lower court that sought to protect those files. The clock is ticking: Rhode Island Hospital has until midnight Central Time Tuesday to comply. Not only did Judge O'Connor tell hospital officials to hand over those files - in direct conflict with an order by a federal judge in Providence - he also ordered Rhode Island Hospital not to "cooperate" with anyone seeking to block the original Department of Justice subpoena that started this tug of war."
"That would include Judge Mary McElroy, an appointee of President Donald Trump who responded to the plea of the Rhode Island Child Advocate's office by lambasting Attorney General Todd Blanche's DOJ. McElroy said his prosecutors had misled O'Connor and their goal was to find a workaround in a "friendly forum," such as North Texas, rather than in Rhode Island, where the records are actually located. She criticized the government's subpoena as "drastic overreach" and said it was issued in "bad faith," not for a legit investigation by federal law enforcement but for an "improper purpose.""
"The Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate represents children and teens in state custody, some of whom are receiving treatment related to gender dysphoria. Kevin Love Hubbard, an attorney there, and his boss Katelyn Medeiros, said they learned about the subpoena from a Justice Department press release. They quickly appealed to McElroy, and successfully argued that the DOJ subpoena violated the constitutional rights of the children and teens who would be outed as transgender to the federal government. McEloy agreed"
#transgender-healthcare #court-orders #department-of-justice-subpoena #medical-privacy #rhode-island
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