Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey secured a major victory against gender-affirming health care following a two-week trial “to defend a state law banning child mutilation,” according to a press release issued on November 25. “This is a resounding victory for our children,” Bailey said, noting the significance of the ruling as Missouri becomes the first state in the nation to win such a case at the trial court level.

The law, which was approved by Missouri lawmakers in May 2023 and signed by Republican Governor Mike Parson in June 2023, is one of two bills targeting transgender issues. The first bans gender-affirming health care for minors, while the second prohibits transgender girls and women from participating in female athletics.

In addition to banning gender-affirming treatments for minors, the law increases penalties for doctors who violate its provisions. Physicians found in violation of the law can be sued by patients, and their medical licenses may be revoked. Patients have up to 15 years to file lawsuits, with successful claims guaranteed at least $500,000 in damages.

On November 25, Judge R. Craig Carter of the Circuit Court of Cole County ruled in favor of the state, stating that the use of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries for treating gender dysphoria in minors is “ethically suspect and problematic.” He further commented that “both short-term and long-term evidence as to the efficacy and necessity of these treatments is extremely sparse.”

Bailey, a strong opponent of experimental treatments such as puberty blockers and sex-change surgeries for minors, launched a full investigation into the issue. Earlier in 2023, a whistleblower came forward with allegations regarding the Pediatric Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The whistleblower provided a sworn affidavit and documentation to support the claims, prompting Bailey’s investigation.

Among the whistleblower’s allegations about the Center are the following:

• From 2020 to 2022, the Center “initiated medical transition for more than 600 children. The Center “billed the cost of some of the procedures to state and federal publicly funded insurance programs” such as medicaid.
• Doctors who continued medical transition treatments even after parents revoked consent
• The fact that the Center “did not require children to continue with mental health care” after cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers were prescribed.
• The whistleblower stated she has “seen puberty blockers worsen mental health outcomes,” including the “contemplation of suicide” from children when they were put on puberty blockers when those same children had never contemplated suicide prior to treatment.
• Center healthcare providers who “lie[d] to the public and to the parents of patients about the treatment, or lack of treatment and the effects of treatment…”
• Doctors at the Center who lied about having provided gender transition surgeries.
• The whistleblower alleged the Center “does not track outcomes because they do not want to have to report them to new patients and because they do not want to discontinues cross-sex hormone prescriptions.”
• She also alleged the Center “never discontinues cross-sex hormones, no matter the outcome.”
• Doctors using a drug called Bicalutamide to cause “breasts to grow,” a drug that can poison the liver.

Allegations Surface About Deceptive Practices at Texas Children’s Hospital in Gender-Affirming Treatments

St. Louis Children’s Hospital is not the only medical institution facing scrutiny over its gender-affirming treatments for minors. In June, Freedom Forever reported that despite claims by Texas Children’s Hospital that it had “ceased performing transgender medical procedures on children” in 2022, the hospital continued offering gender-affirming treatments to minors, including procedures on children as young as 11.

The whistleblower in this case, Dr. Eithan Haim, a surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital, exposed the hospital’s ongoing practices in 2023. Dr. Haim, who is now facing criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice, provided key information regarding the hospital’s alleged misleading statements about its procedures. However, Dr. Haim insists that he adhered to privacy laws, including HIPAA, and redacted all patient-specific details in his disclosures.

Alarmed by the hospital’s actions and what he believed were deliberate falsehoods about its medical transition treatments, Dr. Haim reached out to investigative reporter Christopher Rufo. Rufo ultimately broke the story on May 16, 2023, drawing significant public attention to the issue.

FreedomForever.us partners with a number of organizations such as Protect Young Eyes, Covenant Eyes, VidAngel, Troomi, The Mama Bear Effect, and others to help protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Freedom Forever is an all-volunteer organization that focuses its energy and time on preserving the innocence and safety of children. Freedom Forever is now also offering crisis support for survivors and families. Please call the Crisis Resource Line at 615.307.0152 or email our resource specialist at Starr@FreedomForever.us.

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