Pittsburgh-based health system UPMC has been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice over its program for gender-affirming care for trans men and women.

UPMC, which represents 40 hospitals and 800 doctors’ offices statewide, on Tuesday said it remained “steadfast in its commitment” to providing “exceptional care” for all patients.

In a statement emailed to PennLive, health system officials said: “As we continue to monitor any executive branch memos, directives, subpoenas and other guidance from the Trump administration, these actions have made it abundantly clear that our clinicians can no longer provide certain types of gender-affirming care without risk of criminal prosecution. This includes specific restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for individuals under the age of 19.”

UPMC did not provide any additional information on the subpoena or whether it seeks patient or physician records.

UPMC officials said the health system would continue to provide essential behavioral health support and other necessary care “within the bounds of the law” while protecting the confidentiality of the physician/patient relationship.

“We empathize deeply with the patients and families affected by these ongoing changes,” the statement said.

The Justice Department earlier this month sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics nationwide involved in “performing transgender medical procedures on children.”

The department did not name the 20 doctors or clinics or their locations. In a brief announcement, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice.”

The department did not define “transgender medical procedures” but said the investigations were targeting healthcare fraud, false statements and more.

The World Health Organization defines gender-affirming care as encompassing a range of social, psychological, behavioral and medical interventions “designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity” when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. The interventions help transgender people align various aspects of their lives — emotional, interpersonal, and biological — with their gender identity.

One of the largest healthcare and hospital systems in Pennsylvania, UPMC in April canceled gender-affirming care for transgender youth amid pressure from the Trump administration.

Inquiries to other health systems, including WellSpan and Penn State Health, which operates Hershey Medical Center, regarding any DOJ action were not immediately returned.

Penn State Health in April joined the ranks of systems to cancel gender-affirming care, changing its policy across its network of eight medical centers and 20,900 staff members — including more than 2,400 physicians.

The subpoena for UPMC marks the latest such probe from the Trump administration. Two weeks ago, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the state’s largest pediatric specialty hospital, received a subpoena from DOJ as part of an apparent investigation into gender-affirming care for transgender youth, according to The Colorado Sun.

In June, Fox News, citing an anonymous source, reported that the DOJ had opened an investigation into three children’s hospitals across the country, which in addition to Children’s Hospital Colorado, included Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PennLive.

The subpoenas were issued following a memo from Bondi instructing prosecutors to use a federal law against female genital mutilation.

The April 22 memo from Bondi is widely seen as an escalation in the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender children.

Amber Barnes, executive director of the LGBT Center of Central PA, condemned the action from the Trump administration, saying it puts young lives at risk.

“The concern is that we know that gender affirming care is life saving care,” she said. “And when we have already vulnerable and marginalized LGBTQ youth who are not able to access that care, it puts them at higher risk. That really is our largest concern, is making sure that LGBTQ youth have spaces to be places where they feel that they belong. They can be their authentic selves.”

Barnes said providers in central Pennsylvania are still providing gender affirming care to individuals over the age of 19. The widespread cancellation of gender-affirming care by health systems in the state has adversely affected many families.

Barnes said LGBTQ advocates were looking to the Shapiro administration for help in ensuring healthcare providers like UPMC and Penn State Health “do the right thing” and continue to care for those who are under 19.

“Where the LGBTQ community continues to be disheartened is that we see these healthcare systems capitulating to executive orders that are in no way the law of the land,” Barnes said. “We’re seeing fear-based responses, and it’s creating barriers to healthcare, barriers to counseling, especially for youth, barriers to accessing what I believe to be life-saving care.”