Washington University denies whistleblower claims

The controversial transgender center at Washington University in St. Louis may or may not be closing.

Whistleblower Jamie Reed wrote an op-ed piece for the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” saying the university’s transgender center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital “quietly” announced last week that it would be closing. Reed last year accused the clinic of harming its child patients by prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones instead of providing mental health treatment and that the clinic regularly referred youths for gender transition surgery. Shortly after Reed’s allegations went public, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation outlawing gender transition treatments for minors.

“This is a huge win for the rule of law and for the safety of our children,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey told MissouriNet. “As a father of four and as attorney general, I want Missouri to be the safest state in the nation for children. The closure of any clinic that has mutilated children is a major step towards that goal. I will not stop until the clandestine network of clinics mutilating children is permanently dismantled and bad actors are held accountable.”

Bailey recently attempted to access private medical records of transgender children who visited the center based on Reed’s claims, an attempt that was recently blocked by a judge. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte ruled the health information sought in Bailey’s demands is protected, and the data are not relevant to an investigation under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which is the state’s consumer protection law. A third layer of protection for the information, the judge ruled, is the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which prohibits the disclosure of personal health information without authorization.

Washington University officials, however, said the claim that the transgender center is closing is unfounded. “The scope of care provided at the center changed last year after Missouri passed a new law on the subject,” the university told a St. Louis TV station. “Since then, we have continued to support our transgender patients appropriately and in accordance with the law. We have no plans to change that approach.”

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice