California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to quash a U.S. DOJ administrative subpoena seeking sensitive medical records and personally identifying information of adolescent patients receiving gender-affirming care at Children's Hospital Colorado. The brief argues the subpoena violates states' rights to regulate medicine under the Tenth Amendment and misinterprets the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which would harm off-label drug use across all medical fields.
The amicus brief urges the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to grant Children's Hospital Colorado's motion to quash the DOJ's administrative subpoena, thereby blocking the government's access to sensitive patient records and preventing alleged overreach into state-regulated medical practice.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving the handling of protected health information (PHI), particularly vendor contracts, research partnerships, and any data processing agreements with entities like Children's Hospital Colorado or similar healthcare providers. Specific clauses to scrutinize include those governing responses to legal requests (subpoenas, court orders), patient consent and authorization for data disclosure, confidentiality provisions for sensitive categories of health data (e.g., gender-affirming care, adolescent records), and compliance with both federal (HIPAA, FDCA) and state-specific medical privacy laws. Teams must assess whether contracts adequately require prior notification to the data subject or the contracting entity before disclosing sensitive records, limit the scope of data provided in response to government requests, and incorporate state-law protections that may exceed federal baselines. Potential amendments could include adding explicit restrictions on disclosing sensitive health data without a court order or patient consent, mandating consultation with legal counsel before responding to administrative subpoenas, and including indemnification clauses for violations of state medical regulations.
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U.S. Department of Justice
Also known as: Children's Hospital Colorado
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-challenges-us-doj%E2%80%99s-continued-attempts-subpoena-hospitals
2025.12.04 Colorado Children's Amicus Brief As filed
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/2025.12.04%20Colorado%20Children%27s%20Amicus%20Brief%20As-filed.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"U.S. DOJ"
"This subpoena demands sensitive medical records and personally identifying information about adolescent patients and their families. For example, U.S. DOJ is seeking patient names, dates of birth, home addresses, and social security numbers."
"U.S. DOJ attempts to justify its subpoena by claiming the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) prohibits administration of and communication about approved drugs for off-label purposes"
"The subpoena infringes states’ rights under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution to provide and regulate the practice of medicine"
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief opposing the U.S. Department of Justice's subpoena for patient records from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center related to gender-affirming care. The brief argues that the subpoena violates patient privacy, infringes on states' rights to regulate medicine, and exceeds DOJ's statutory authority.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 15 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to limit a U.S. DOJ subpoena seeking medical records of transgender youth from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, arguing it violates patient privacy and could intimidate providers of gender-affirming care.
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