OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta yesterday joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief opposing the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ)’s attempt to obtain personal health information about patients who have received gender-affirming care at New York University (NYU) Langone Hospitals. In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the criminal grand jury subpoena U.S. DOJ has issued to NYU Langone Hospitals seeks to end gender-affirming care for adolescents in states that have made a commitment to protecting this care, infringing on states’ rights to regulate the practice of medicine and ensure their residents are not denied access to medically necessary healthcare. 

“The U.S. Department of Justice continues to seek access to patients’ private healthcare information in an attempt to intimidate medical providers away from offering medically necessary care to transgender individuals,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are committed to defending California and other states’ rights to adopt medical policies that empower our residents to live healthy, prosperous lives free from unfair roadblocks. We will continue to oppose the Trump Administration’s bad-faith agenda against transgender individuals and fight to ensure all Americans can access crucial care from providers they trust.” 

In the summer of 2025, U.S. DOJ issued administrative subpoenas against medical providers nationwide who provide gender-affirming healthcare for minors. Courts across the country repeatedly quashed these administrative subpoenas, finding that they served no legitimate investigatory purpose and threatened to undermine states’ sovereign interest in regulating the practice of medicine. In May 2026, U.S. DOJ changed tactics, seeking the same information from NYU Langone Hospitals through a federal criminal grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. On June 2, a group of current and former patients filed a class action lawsuit and application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to block U.S. DOJ from obtaining their private health information and to prevent NYU Langone Hospitals from disclosing that information.

In yesterday’s amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the district court to grant the plaintiffs’ request for a TRO. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that:

• U.S. DOJ’s subpoena is part of a campaign against gender-affirming care that infringes on states’ rights under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution to regulate the practice of medicine.
• The subpoena harms states’ abilities to protect equality for their residents and ensure that people with gender dysphoria retain access to medically necessary care. 

Attorney General Bonta is committed to defending medical providers and their patients from overreach and intimidation by the Trump Administration. On May 11, 2026, Attorney General Bonta joined a multistate amicus brief opposing a U.S. DOJ subpoena against Rhode Island Hospital seeking information and documents regarding the hospital’s provision of gender-affirming care, including patients’ personally identifiable information. Attorney General Bonta has joined amicus briefs opposing similar U.S. DOJ subpoenas against telemedicine platform QueerDoc, as well as University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Children’s Hospital Colorado.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.