The Trump administration is abandoning its effort to obtain sensitive medical records from transgender young people who received gender-affirming care at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, bringing one of its most aggressive legal fights over such care closer to an end.
Justice Department attorneys asked the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday to voluntarily dismiss the government's appeal of lower-court rulings that blocked subpoenas seeking patient information. The families who challenged the subpoenas do not oppose the request. The Justice Department did not explain why it was dropping the case.
The filing is remarkably brief. In just one paragraph of substantive argument, government attorneys asked the court to dismiss the consolidated appeal and have each side cover its own costs. The appeals court must still approve the request before the case is formally dismissed.
Rather than continue trying to revive subpoenas that a federal judge sharply rejected, the administration is walking away.
Related: Pennsylvania families fight Trump Justice Department subpoenas for their trans kids' private medical records
"The children we represented, their families, and all minor patients from UPMC's gender-affirming care clinic can now rest easy that their personal information will not be exposed to a hostile administration," Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center, said in a statement to The Advocate on Monday.
The dispute was part of a wider Trump administration campaign to use federal investigative powers against hospitals and doctors providing gender-affirming care to minors.
As The Advocate previously reported, Pennsylvania families went to court after the Justice Department sought extensive information involving young patients, including medical records, intake documents, consent forms and parental authorizations connected with puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
A federal judge ultimately blocked the government from obtaining the records, describing aspects of its conduct as "unprecedented" and saying its rhetoric reflected "callous indifference, if not abject cruelty."
The Justice Department appealed. Monday's filing signals that it no longer intends to defend that effort in court.
McKenzie said the legal victory nevertheless came after families spent months fearing that federal officials could gain access to deeply private information about their children.
Related: Trump-appointed judge says DOJ 'proven unworthy' of trust in blistering trans care case ruling
"They faced the possibility of harassment from the federal government and the fear that their private healthcare records would be in the hands of people who think that transgender and nonbinary people shouldn't exist," she said.
The UPMC fight unfolded as the administration escalated pressure on gender-affirming care providers nationally. The Justice Department announced last year that it had issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics, while federal courts have repeatedly blocked or narrowed demands for patient records.
At the same time, some health systems have stopped providing care or reached settlements with the government. UPMC itself announced in June 2025 that it would stop providing gender-affirming care to patients younger than 19, citing liability concerns.
Related: Federal judge blocks DOJ from getting its hands on trans children's private medical records
Attorneys for the Pittsburgh families warned Monday that the administration's retreat from the subpoena case does not mean that the pressure campaign is over. "Around the country, the Department of Justice has been reaching agreements with healthcare providers to end gender-affirming care and prop up 'de-transition' clinics," McKenzie said.
She urged UPMC not to follow suit. "Gender-affirming care is legal in Pennsylvania, and gender-based discrimination is not," McKenzie said. "UPMC must follow the law and not cave to a hostile administration."
The Advocate has reached out to UPMC media relations for comment.
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Trump administration abandons legal appeal for trans kids' medical records
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