Doctor who exposed trans procedures at Texas Children's Hospital faces 10 years in prison
Eithan Haim's legal defense fund has raised more than $668K
The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed the four-count indictment against a doctor who potentially faces 10 years in prison after blowing the whistle on the largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. for allegedly prescribing puberty blockers to minors despite claiming otherwise.
Dr. Eithan Haim, 34, who completed his surgical residency at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) in Houston, was slapped with four felony counts earlier this month after he "obtained personal information including patient names, treatment codes and the attending physician from Texas Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) electronic system without authorization," according to a DOJ press release.
Haim reportedly leaked such records to journalist Christopher Rufo last year because they exposed the "gender-affirming services" allegedly still being performed on minors at the hospital at the time, even though the hospital told the public it had paused such procedures.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had earlier released a formal opinion in February 2022 that labeled some sex-change procedures and the use of puberty blockers as "child abuse" under Texas law, after which Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order instructing state agencies to investigate them as such.
The six-page indictment released by U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani and reported by National Review alleges that Haim went to the press instead of the appropriate authorities within the hospital.
BREAKING: The Biden Administration has unsealed the indictment against Dr. @EithanHaim, who blew the whistle on the child sex-change program at Texas Children's Hospital.
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) June 17, 2024
He is now facing up to 10 years in prison for telling the truth about a practice that is now illegal. pic.twitter.com/l0isJJPKJd
Last May, within 24 hours of Rufo publishing a story in City Journal based on Haim's leak, the Texas Legislature passed SB-14, which made such procedures for minors illegal in the state effective Sept. 1, 2023.
GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law last June.
Rufo's story also prompted Paxton to launch a formal investigation into TCH. The hospital's CEO, Mark Wallace, later issued a statement promising to finally shut down the facility's trans procedures for minors by the time the law went into effect.
Rufo noted in a subsequent article last June that the information Haim leaked to him redacted key personal information, but the indictment claims the records retained dates of service, diagnosis, procedure codes and physician names.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari, the lead DOJ prosecutor in his case who also signed his recent indictment, showed evidence of bias and went after both him and his wife, his lawyers claimed in a letter sent to members of Congress earlier this year.
Ansari allegedly described trans procedures as the "last hope" for some families and pressed Haim to avoid felony prosecution by admitting to a crime. She also reportedly claimed it was not Haim's job to expose the trans procedures at the pediatric hospital and used a personal cellphone to communicate with Haim's attorneys.
"These people are corrupt," Haim told The Christian Post in January. "And the only way to expose it is to not play into this Kabuki theater, like these people are practitioners of justice. Because if we were to collude with them, we would be sanctioning our own destruction."
"Because these people are just petty tyrants and neurotic bureaucrats," he added. "And what that boils down to is that these people are simply bullies. When you're fearful, when you're afraid, that's when they're most effective. So to be fearful and scared is to seal your own death warrant."
Haim's legal defense fund, which has a goal of $1 million, has raised more than $668,000 as of Tuesday.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
