A Missouri transgender clinic that came under fire for its alleged rush to prescribe hormonal medications to children will end the practice due to a new state law.
The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital “will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for the purposes of gender transition,” the university announced Monday.
The center became a catalyst for state lawmakers to draft the new law, banning hormone therapy for those under 18 after a whistleblower came forward in February to claim that doctors were handing out hormone medications to children with poor screening. their mental health problems.
A former caseworker at the clinic, Jamie Reed, said its practices were “morally and medically atrocious” and were “permanently harming” children by failing to take into account mental health concerns that are “red flags,” including ignoring the possible side effects and ignoring the few who later decided to detransition.
The newly enacted law only provides an exemption for patients who were already receiving gender-confirming hormonal medications before August 28.
But the Transgender Center decided to end those services to all of its patients, new and old, because of a new legal claim the law created for minors who received the drugs, university officials said.
The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital announced Monday that it will no longer prescribe hormonal medications to minors.Google Maps
The father of a boy who was treated at the clinic blamed politics for his decision to end hormone therapy for young people. AP
“This legal claim creates unsustainable liability for healthcare professionals and makes it unsustainable for us to continue to provide comprehensive transgender care for minor patients without subjecting the university and our providers to an unacceptable level of liability,” the University said. of Washington in a statement.
The law establishes a minimum liability of $500,000.
The university said a new state law created “an unacceptable level of liability.”
The Transgender Center decided to end services to all of its patients, new and old, due to a new legal claim that the law created for minors who received the drugs.AP/Charlie Riedel
The center will refer its current patients to other providers and said it was “heartbroken” by its forced decision.
It will continue to offer mental health education and support for transgender children, as well as medical care for those 18 and older.
Several clinic patients and their parents criticized Reed’s accusations, saying they don’t square with their own experiences, adding that she worked only on the administrative side and didn’t really see what was happening at doctor’s appointments.
Whistleblower Jamie Reed claimed the clinic was often quick to approve hormone therapy for its young patients. The Free Press
Some of the former case manager’s allegations were later corroborated, while others could not be confirmed as part of a New York Times investigation that included interviews with dozens of patients, parents, former employees and local health care providers and more than 300 pages of documents.
The report found that the clinic often relied on outside therapists, some with little experience in gender issues, to make the call on its young patients’ eligibility for hormone medications and that the clinic provided little or no support to its former patients. who stopped identifying as Transgender.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is investigating Reed’s claims, and many state Republicans seized on his whistleblower report.
The father of a former transgender center patient blamed politics for the closure of the hormonal medication program.
“I hope they are very pleased with the harm they are causing to transgender children,” Kim Hutton, whose now-adult son received treatment, told the St. Louis Dispatch on Monday. “Obviously our children are not worthy of attention.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn