NYU Langone faces federal grand jury subpoena over transgender youth care

NYU Langone Health said it received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking records on transgender youth care, a move that puts one of New York’s largest hospital systems at the center of an escalating federal campaign over gender-affirming treatment for minors.

The subpoena, issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, sought information about patients under 18 who received gender-affirming care at NYU Langone facilities between 2020 and 2026, along with the names of the providers involved, Bloomberg Law reported. The hospital said it received the request on May 7 and notified patients and providers under New York’s Shield Law, which requires notice to the attorney general before certain disclosures involving legally protected health activity.

The request is significant because it appears to be the first known use of a federal grand jury to gather information for a criminal probe tied to transgender youth care under the second Trump administration. The Justice Department said on July 9, 2025 that it had already sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in transgender medical procedures on children, but federal judges in at least four districts had previously rejected earlier attempts to collect medical records.

NYU Langone said in February 2026 that it discontinued its Transgender Youth Health Program, citing the current regulatory environment. Local reporting also linked the closure to the departure of the program’s medical director and to mounting backlash from LGBTQ advocates and elected officials. Even so, NYU Langone’s public site still describes transgender and nonbinary care for adults and adolescents, including hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery, underscoring how uneven the legal terrain remains for hospitals trying to decide what services to keep and what files to hand over.

New York’s attorney general said the state’s amended Shield Law, updated on December 19, 2025, strengthens protections for patients and providers of reproductive and gender-affirming care. The law requires notice to the attorney general before disclosure of requests for information about protected health activity, a safeguard that now collides with federal criminal procedure in a high-stakes legal fight.

The practical stakes go well beyond one New York institution. A subpoena for names, charts and internal records can chill treatment decisions, force compliance departments to scrutinize how they store data and push hospitals to reconsider whether they can continue serving minors at all. As federal prosecutors move the transgender-care fight from legislatures into hospitals and courtrooms, the pressure on providers is likely to reshape access well beyond New York, especially for families seeking care for minors.