Whistleblower who warned trans clinic was hastily prescribing hormones, 'permanently harming' children has claims corroborated: Report

A whistleblower who claimed earlier this year that a Missouri clinic was hastily prescribing hormones to children has some of her claims corroborated by the New York Times.

Jamie Reed, 42, published an article in the Free Press in February claiming that the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital was “permanently harming” adolescents questioning their gender.

Reed, who previously worked as a case manager for the children’s gender clinic, described herself as a “queer woman” and “politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.” She walked away from her position at the clinic last year, contending she “could no longer participate in what was happening,” which she described as “morally and medically appalling” practices.

According to Reed, the clinic hastily prescribed cross-sex hormones to patients with “many comorbidities.”

Reed was torched by critics, who argued that her accusations were outright lies.

At the time, St. Louis Children’s Hospital released a statement claiming that it took Reed’s allegations “very seriously” and had already begun investigating them.

Reed’s concerns prompted Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) to launch an investigation — which is still ongoing — into the clinic’s practices.

On Wednesday, the New York Times released an article titled “How a Small Gender Clinic Landed in a Political Storm” in which some of Reed's claims were corroborated.

“The reality was more complex than what was portrayed by either side of the political battle, according to interviews with dozens of patients, parents, former employees and local health providers, as well as more than 300 pages of documents shared by Ms. Reed,” the Times stated.

It noted that some of Reed’s accusations “could not be confirmed, and at least one included factual inaccuracies.”

The Times found that the clinic relied on external therapists, including some with minimal gender-related experience. Additionally, it failed to help patients who wished to de-transition.

In order to begin the so-called gender transition process, patients needed to identify as the opposite sex for six months and obtain parental consent and a letter of support from a therapist.

Since the clinic had no system for tracking patients, Reed and a colleague began a “red flag list” that included adolescents with psychiatric issues. The list contained 60 patients, including one who had stopped taking medication for schizophrenia without a doctor’s approval, another who suffered from hallucinations, and an individual who had undergone inpatient psychiatric care for five months.

Reed’s colleague expressed concerns that patients were required to continue seeing a therapist while taking hormones, emails obtained by the Times revealed. She also noted that “no one is ever told no.”

The outlet spoke with a patient named Alex, who stated she de-transitioned a few years after being prescribed testosterone by the clinic at 15 years old.

Alex claimed that a nurse at the clinic was dismissive when she expressed a desire to stop taking the hormones. The nurse allegedly told her there was no longer a need for follow-up appointments.

“Overall, there was a major lack of care and consideration for me,” Alex stated.

In a statement to the Times, the university said that its clinic prioritizes mental health care and that “patients have ongoing relationships with mental health providers.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!