HHS sued for resisting FOIA for transgender official's role in trans surgery standards for kids

Judicial Watch has sued the Department of Health and Human Services for not fulfilling its Freedom of Information request related to pressure by the federal government's top transgender official on a group that devises "standards of care" for transgender health, including for minors, the watchdog group said Friday.

The watchdog filed the FOIA request after an "expert report" by Canadian sexologist James Cantor was unsealed in litigation against Alabama's ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for those under 19, examples of what supporters call gender affirming care. 

Cantor cited communications among Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine's staff and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which was working on Standards of Care 8,  that conveyed Levine wanted the group to ditch age minimums of 14-17 for various hormonal and surgical procedures including castration and mastectomy that appeared in a draft. WPATH did so in 2022.

The July 3 FOIA was straightforward, seeking communications to and from Levine regarding the removal of age minimums in SOC 8 involving WPATH, its then-president Walter Bouman and prepubescent chapter lead author Amy Tishelman, World Health Organization, ACLU lawyer and trans activist Chase Strangio, Levine's staffer Sarah Boateng and others, from March 1, 2021 through Oct. 31, 2022.

"A reasonable search should include, but not be limited to, the search terms '2022 standards of care,' 'SOC-8,' 'minimum age,' 'transgender care,' and 'wpath,'" the request said.

HHS assigned the request a tracking number but has yet to determine whether to comply, notify Judicial Watch of its determination or rationale, give it the right to appeal, or produce the records or demonstrate they are exempt, the suit says. The agency was required to make a final determination by Aug. 1.

The suit was filed Sept. 9 but only disclosed by Judicial Watch on Friday, and includes a typo that refers to the State Department rather that HHS, which did not immediately respond to a Just the News query.