HHS sued over FOIA request related to transgender health standards

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Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for allegedly failing to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning the involvement of Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine in the development of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health's (WPATH) Standards of Care 8. This lawsuit was initiated after an expert report by Canadian sexologist James Cantor, which was unsealed in a legal case against Alabama's ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for individuals under 19.

The FOIA request aimed to obtain communications regarding Levine's reported desire to remove age minimums for certain hormonal and surgical procedures in the WPATH standards. These procedures include mastectomy and castration, previously set with age minimums of 14 to 17. WPATH implemented these changes in 2022.

The request specifically sought correspondence involving Levine, WPATH officials, and various other stakeholders from March 2021 to October 2022. HHS has assigned a tracking number to the request but has not yet made a determination on compliance or provided a rationale for any potential exemptions. The lawsuit was filed on September 9 and publicly disclosed on Friday.