A Missouri transgender clinic says it will continue to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to minors, turning down the state attorney general’s request as investigations of a whistleblower’s complaint continue.
“Therefore, we cannot institute a moratorium that would deny critical, standards-based care to current and new patients,” the letter said.
However, center officials are “establishing additional oversight” while continuing an internal review of patient care practices, the letter said, without specifying what those steps entailed.
The letter, which also pledges cooperation with investigators, was signed by university Chancellor Andrew Martin and Richard Liekweg, CEO of BJC HealthCare, responding on behalf of the hospital.
Whistleblower’s Claims Debated
The letter refusing to halt the procedures voluntarily was sent hours after a state Senate committee held a hearing on a proposal to outlaw gender-altering hormones and surgeries for minors.Missouri is one of about two dozen states attempting legislation to restrict, criminalize, or otherwise discourage what transgenderism proponents call “gender-affirming care.”
Reed, 42, of St. Louis, is believed to be the nation’s first whistleblower to reveal the inner workings of a pediatric transgender clinic.
She and others want so-called “gender-affirming care” to stop, saying children are being harmed.
Young patients and their parents are not being fully informed of the risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, Reed said.
Reed, who is a parent and identifies as “queer,” also alleges doctors at the center continued prescribing the drugs even after parents revoked consent or patients suffered detrimental effects.
Sen. Elaine Gannon (R-DeSoto) said that everyone on the Senate’s Emerging Issues Committee had probably read Reed’s much-talked-about article.
“And when I read it, I just said to myself, ‘well, you know what? Finally, the cat is out of the bag. And this has been exposed,’” Gannon said. “It needs to be exposed, and it needs to stop.”
In Reed’s first-person account, published by an independent media outlet, The Free Press, she called for a nationwide moratorium on the procedures.
Reed also signed a sworn statement alleging that children with severe mental conditions were prescribed gender-altering medications after insufficient assessments.
That led to state and federal investigations, along with calls for the St. Louis clinic—and others across the nation—to hit “pause” on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors.
Reed said she has three children from a previous marriage, but her current spouse is a woman who identifies as a man.
Witness Shouts ‘Shame on You!’
Dozens of people on both sides of the issue came to the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri, for the Feb. 14 hearing.Emotions ran high at the outset. The first two witnesses confronted Senators with whom they disagreed. One, a supporter of the SAFE Act, was escorted out; the other, an opponent of the legislation, was threatened with being ejected.
Before the hearing, Scott Newgent, a transsexual who supports the SAFE Act, handed out 600 flyers in and around the Capitol and urged lawmakers to approve the Act.
As the hearing began, Newgent, a 50-year-old parent of three children, kicked off the testimony.
Newgent described the horrors of sex-reassignment surgery and implored Senators to prevent children from heading down a path that can lead to misery and a shortened lifespan.
“I was told that I was actually a man trapped in a woman’s body, that my masculine traits and strong personality were proof that I was really a man,” Newgent said.
“I was told that all my pain and self-loathing would magically disappear if I just put testosterone into my body, remove my breasts and alter my genitalia.”
After doing all of that and taking cross-sex hormones, Newgent suffers repeated infections and other health problems. “Now,” Newgent said, “I will never get to meet my grandkids.”
Newgent, a self-described lesbian, accused an openly gay senator, Democrat Greg Razer, of failing to protect homosexual children from being “transitioned” from their sexual preference and into a new “gender.”
Then Newgent’s emotions boiled over. Newgent pointed at Razer and shouted, “Shame on you! Shame on you!”
Sen. Justin Brown, committee chair, made good on his earlier promise to ensure order in the hearing. He ordered Newgent to be escorted out of the hearing.
Doctor, Lawmaker, Patient Testify
A doctor who testified against the legislation, Kansas City endocrinologist Brandon Barthel, said his practice deals with adult transgender people, not minors.But he cast doubt on many of Reed’s claims. He accused her of “cherry-picking” patients with highly complex issues, highlighting them rather than describing cases that reflect most patients.
Barthel said the government should not “intrude into medical practice to stop evidence-based treatments.”
Sen. Nick Schorer (R-St. Charles County) questioned the quality of that evidence. He noted that Sweden, Finland, the UK, and Florida, reviewed many studies showing “there is no evidence that the benefits of hormones for treating gender-related distress in youth outweigh the risks.”
When he asked Barthel to respond, the doctor replied, “I think it’s a little surprising that we’re sitting here in the heartland of the United States of America, and we’re talking about modeling our health care practices off what Europe does.”
But Schorer said that was not the issue; he tried to pin down the doctor. Barthel faulted Schorer for interrupting when he tried to answer.
After some back-and-forth, the committee chairman stepped in. “Let me stop this. I’m not going to tolerate disrespect to a committee member,” Brown said. “Now we already had one witness removed from here—and, trust me, I have no problem doing that.”
Three Versions of Proposal
Three versions of the SAFE Act were sponsored by Republican senators: Mike Moon, Jill Carter, and Danny Hoskins. The committee must decide whether to send such a measure to the full Senate.Moon had introduced a similar bill several years ago, but it died in committee.
In opening remarks, Moon said he was glad the whistleblower came forward, noting “she had nothing to gain.”
He criticized Washington University for attempting to “convert” children from one sex to another. Such a procedure sounds like “scientific medical experiments performed at a concentration camp,” he said.
Moon said some people responded angrily to his proposed ban on the procedures.
“We should be directing our anger toward the evildoers like those at Washington University and others who are perpetrating this evil upon our children. They’re the ones that took an oath to do no harm,” Moon said.
Carter said that, rather than the current emphasis on “gender-affirming care,” which can lead to medical procedures, said she would like to see a return to “watchful waiting,” as the preferred method of care for gender-distressed youths.
“This would allow a therapist to help the child or family address possible ... pathology, treat any underlying psychological issues and help the child and align their gender identity with their biological sex,” Carter said.
When Hoskins first heard allegations that adolescents were going through “life-changing surgeries and treatments,” that sounded “crazy,” he said.
“Well, actually, it turned out I was the one that was crazy,” Hoskins said, “because I didn’t believe them.”
“And we now know that many of these things are happening to our kids.”
