With more than 100 pediatric gender clinics in the U.S., sharing the stories of detransitioners and whistleblowers from these clinics is vital to protecting children’s health. Recently, a former employee of the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital detailed her experience working at a clinic that “transed” children and warned against the abusive practices.
Jamie Reed describes herself as a “42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.” She began working as a case manager at The Washington University Transgender Center in 2018, where she was exposed to the horrors of gender “transition” procedures on minors for four years.
“The center’s working assumption was that the earlier you treat kids with gender dysphoria, the more anguish you can prevent later on. This premise was shared by the center’s doctors and therapists. Given their expertise, I assumed that abundant evidence backed this consensus…By the time I departed, I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to ‘do no harm.’ Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care,” she writes.
Jamie was responsible for patient intake and oversight. She saw about a thousand distressed young people walk through the clinic doors and said the majority of them were prescribed cross-sex hormones, which cause sterilization. She notes that these minors were incapable of fully understanding the consequences of losing their fertility.
To begin “transitioning,” all a patient needed was a letter of support from a therapist who they had to see only a couple times for the green light. Then, patients embarked on a single visit to the endocrinologist for a testosterone prescription, causing a slew of “profound and permanent” effects.
Jamie goes on to say that there are no reliable studies supporting the efficacy of gender “transitioning” when it comes to improving mental health, and her experience at the center served as proof that these treatments don’t relieve patients’ confusion. “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,” she writes.
Further, without so-called “gender-affirming” care, most children will re-identify with their biological sex. Gender “transition” procedures only guarantee patients a life-long struggle with gender identity.
Jamie also discussed her concerns about parental rights at the center, noting that doctors disregarded the rights of parents and “saw themselves as more informed decision-makers over the fate of these children.”
Lastly, she tells several stories of patients who endured serious negative side effects, were shocked by the results of the procedures, or deeply regretted “transitioning” and wanted to undo the damage, only to discover it was permanent.
“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,” she said in a sworn testimony. “I witnessed children experience shocking injuries from the medication the Center prescribed. And I saw the Center make no attempt to track adverse outcomes of patients after they left the Center.”
Thankfully, in response to Jamie’s allegations, an investigation of the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Hospital has been launched.
Sheila Solon, director at the state’s Division of Professional Registration said, “The Division’s licensing boards will investigate the complaints they receive as part of this investigation, and take any necessary action against the licenses of Missouri professionals in violation of the boards’ statutory and regulatory authority to ensure health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Missouri.”
Please take a few minutes to read the entirety of Jamie Reed’s testimony and share it. The stories of whistleblowers and detransitioners are one of the greatest defenses against this child abuse disguised as “healthcare.”
The best defense any child has is involved and informed parents. Jamie noted that many of the teens that came to this center were from horrible family situations, which again reminds us of the importance of stable, intact married dad-and-mom families. God’s plan is for parents to protect their children from this type of abuse. That protection needs to begin very early in the child’s life as mom and dad talk to him or her about how good it is to be the sex God gave them. Such discussions continue in age appropriate ways, countering the pernicious lies that are constantly assaulting our youth.
Resources for parents:
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/get-help/talking-to-your-children-about-transgender-issues/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-gender/
https://www.frc.org/transgender
https://genderresourceguide.com/
