Missouri university calls whistleblower allegations against transgender center ‘troubling’

Washington University in St. Louis is calling whistleblower allegations against its transgender center “troubling” after a former employee penned an op-ed and filed an affidavit with the state attorney general’s office.

Jaime Reed, a former case manager at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital wrote an op-ed published Thursday in the Free Press, alleging the health center has a “lack of regard for the rights of parents.”

“Two weeks ago, I brought my concerns and documents to the attention of Missouri’s attorney general. He is a Republican. I am a progressive. But the safety of children should not be a matter for our culture wars,” Reed wrote in the op-ed.

In the affidavit, Reed accused hospital employees at the transgender center of lying to parents of patients, among other allegations.

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“During my time at the Center, I personally witnessed Center healthcare providers lie to the public and to parents of patients about the treatment, or lack of treatment, and the effects of treatment provided to children at the Center,” Reed wrote in the affidavit filed with the state’s attorney general’s office. “I have seen puberty blockers worsen the mental health outcomes of children. Children who have not contemplated suicide before being put on puberty blockers have attempted suicide after.”

In another allegation, Reed said that the hospital “does not require children to continue with mental health care after they prescribe cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers and even continues those medications when the patients directly report worsening mental health after initiating those medications.”

Reed also said that “on several occasions” doctors at the transgender center “have continued prescribing medical transition even when a parent stated that they were revoking consent.”

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In response, Washington University in St. Louis issued a statement saying that it is alarmed by the allegations.

“We are alarmed by the allegations reported in the article published by The Free Press describing practices and behaviors the author says she witnessed while employed at the university’s Transgender Center,” reads the statement. “We are taking this matter very seriously and have already begun the process of looking into the situation to ascertain the facts. As always, our highest priority is the health and well-being of our patients. We are committed to providing compassionate, family-centered care to all of our patients and we hold our medical practitioners to the highest professional and ethical standards.”

After the article was published, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a press release that he launched a multi-agency investigation into St. Louis Children’s Hospital two weeks ago.

Missouri’s Division of Social Services and the Division of Professional Registration are among the agencies investigating the hospital’s transgender center.