Colombia, Mon – Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Friday urged doctors to halt the administration of puberty blockers and hormones to new patients at a transgender youth clinic. The call comes a day after he announced an investigation into claims that the facility had rushed to give gender-affirming care to children without informed consent.
Bailey publicly announced an investigation into Washington University’s Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital on Thursday after he said a whistleblower had gone public with allegations against the clinic.
The State Welfare Services, the State Department of Licensing, Republican US Senator Josh Hawley and Washington University determine too.
Former case manager Jamie Reed claimed in an affidavit claimed that the center provides mostly gender-affirming care and does little to address mental health issues that patients also face.
Reed worked at the clinic from 2018 to November 2022. In a post published by The Free Press on Thursday, Reed described herself as a 42-year-old queer woman who is “politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.” She said she was married to a transgender man.
In her affidavit, Reed claimed a minor treated at the center had a mastectomy and months later wanted the procedure reversed. She said a doctor prescribed her a drug to enlarge her breasts, which also caused liver damage.
Reed said she has seen “healthcare providers lie to the public and patients’ parents about the treatment or lack of treatment and the effects of treatment on children.”
“I have witnessed center staff administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children without full informed parental consent and without a proper or accurate assessment of the child’s needs,” Reed wrote. “I’ve witnessed children sustain shocking injuries from the drugs at the prescribed center.”
Sheila Solon, director of the Missouri Division of Profession Registration, said in a statement that the licensing authorities will “take all necessary action against the licenses of Missouri professionals who violate the statutory and regulatory powers of the authorities to protect the health, safety and… to ensure the welfare of the citizens of Missouri. Solon previously served as Republican state representative.
Reed also claimed that doctors often referred patients to local therapists who would recommend gender-affirming treatments to children after spending an hour or two with them. She said doctors would “bully” parents into allowing treatment, saying, “You can either have a living son or a dead daughter.”
Studies have found that some children and adolescents resort to self-mutilation to try to alter their anatomy. And research has shown that transgender youth and adults are prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when forced to live the gender they were assigned at birth.
Reed also claimed that the center billed some treatments to the state’s Medicaid health care program.
“I accepted the job because I support transgender rights and I strongly believe that I will be able to provide good care for children at the center who are suitable candidates for medical transition,” Reed wrote in the affidavit Explanation. “Instead, I witnessed the center cause lasting harm to many patients.”
Robert Fischer, spokesman for Missouri’s LGBTQ advocacy group, PROMO, said in a statement the organization has heard “dozens and dozens of positive personal stories from transgender and gender-nonconforming youth and families about the ethics of care they have received” at the center .
“We also sat in rooms with over 30 parents who shared stories of how their children thrived when they received interdisciplinary, holistic care from a team of providers at the center,” Fischer said. “We have no insight into these allegations and allegations by a person.”
Transgender medical treatment for children and adolescents is increasingly attacked in many countries, labeled as child abuse and subject to criminalizing bans. But it’s been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.
Many clinics use treatment plans developed in Amsterdam 30 years ago, according to a recent review in the British Psych Bulletin. Since 2005, the number of youth referred to gender clinics has increased tenfold in the US, UK, Canada and Finland, the study said.
Several Missouri lawmakers this year submitted bills to ban gender-affirming treatment for transgender youthand Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said so a priority for Senate Republicans.
Bailey called the allegations against the center “troubling” in a statement.
“We take this evidence seriously and are investigating thoroughly to ensure children are not being harmed by individuals who may care more about a radical social agenda than about children’s health,” Bailey said.
Bailey has since spoken out openly on social issues took office in January. Republican Gov. Mike Parson appointed Bailey, the former top attorney for the governor’s office, to succeed current US Senator Eric Schmitt as attorney general.
During his roughly month-long tenure so far, Bailey has urged school boards to adopt policies against children participating in drag shows warned CVS and Walgreens not to sell abortion drugs.
Bailey last month officially launched his campaign for Attorney General in 2024.
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