The US Department of Justice said on Wednesday it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to clinics and doctors who offer gender-affirming care to minors.
It was not immediately clear to whom the requests were sent and the kind of information that was requested.
The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo on 22 April saying the justice department would investigate and prosecute those who were providing transgender care to children. The memo instructed federal prosecutors “to investigate all suspected cases of [female genital mutilation (FGM)] – under the banner of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ or otherwise – and to prosecute all FGM offenses to the fullest extent possible”.
Several medical associations have said that transgender care can provide lifesaving treatment for both children and adults, the Guardian has reported. A 2022 study by researchers at Stanford University found better mental health outcomes for transgender people who started receiving hormone therapy as teens compared with those who waited until they were adults.
Bondi’s April memo said the department would investigate manufacturers and distributors engaged in misbranding by making false claims about the on- or off-label use of puberty blockers, sex hormones or any other drug used to facilitate a child’s gender transition.
The department has yet to file charges against anyone in connection with providing transgender care. Nonetheless, the point of the investigation may be to intimidate those who provide care from doing so.
“It’s meant to have a chilling effect on physicians providing access to necessary care, fearing that it will be characterized as chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” Robin Maril, a law professor at Willamette University, told NBC News in April.
In a 6-3 decision last month, the US supreme court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. In total, 27 states have laws that limit gender-affirming care for minors, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
