Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter demanding that Washington University in St. Louis and BJC Healthcare conduct a fresh evaluation of the practices at The Washington University Transgender Center. Recent reporting from the New York Times validated claims made by Jamie Reed, a former case manager at the Center, that the Center commenced experimental treatments on hundreds of minors and lacked appropriate safeguards.
"As you have no doubt seen, the New York Times recently published a report which corroborates Jamie Reed’s allegations about the practices at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital," wrote Senator Hawley. "In some cases, the Times contradicts representations your institutions previously made to my office. You have thus far refused to provide my office with documents regarding the Center, claiming that your internal review revealed no issues at the Center."
He continued, "This new report demands a fresh evaluation of the Center’s practices. To date, however, you have refused to provide my office with more than 5,000 documents, which I requested in a letter on April 27, 2023. Please provide such documents to my office immediately. Please also explain any apparent discrepancies between the University’s internal review and the Times report, including anything contained in the Times report that you may consider inaccurate."
In February, Senator Hawley launched an investigation into The Washington University Transgender Center, following allegations of potential malpractice. As part of the investigation, Senator Hawley sent a letter to Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin and BJC HealthCare President and CEO Liekweg, requesting information about the receipt and use of federal funds in connection with the Center. Chancellor Martin confirmed to Senator Hawley that Washington University would comply with the request within four weeks.
Senator Hawley also introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act, which would allow those who were harmed by gender-transition procedures as minors to bring lawsuits against the participating individuals and entities.
Read the full letter here or below.
September 7, 2023
Dr. Andrew D. Martin
Chancellor
Washington University in St. Louis
1 Brookings Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63130
Richard J. Liekweg
President and CEO
BJC HealthCare
4901 Forest Park Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63108
Dr. Martin and Mr. Liekweg:
As you have no doubt seen, the New York Times recently published a report which corroborates Jamie Reed’s allegations about the practices at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In some cases, the Times contradicts representations your institutions previously made to my office. You have thus far refused to provide my office with documents regarding the Center, claiming that your internal review revealed no issues at the Center. In light of this new report, I request once again that you immediately furnish my office with such documentation.
Jamie Reed has been vilified for coming forward with her allegations, and many in the mainstream press and elsewhere rushed to discredit her account. Now, months later, the Times has validated her central claim: that the Center has commenced experimental treatments on hundreds of minors without appropriate safeguards in place. According to the Times:
With its psychologists overbooked, the clinic relied on external therapists, some with little experience in gender issues, to evaluate the young patients’ readiness for hormonal medications. Doctors prescribed hormones to patients who had obtained such approvals, even adolescents whose medical histories raised red flags. Some of these patients later stopped identifying as transgender, and received little to no support from the clinic after doing so.
The Times report invites further scrutiny into previous statements contained in the University’s internal review of the Center, which was provided to my office on April 21, 2023. For example, the review states that University physicians and Center staff “treat patients according to the currently accepted standard of care.” According to text messages obtained by the Times, however, the Center’s lead physician said he had “no idea how to meet what would be the most intensive interpretations” of the latest standard of care—raising questions about the procedures and processes actually employed at the Center.
The Times report shows that the Center makes little to no effort to follow up with patients or track their outcomes, directly contradicting the results of your own internal review. In one case independently verified by the Times, a patient de-transitioned three years after being prescribed testosterone following just one visit to the Center, but was treated dismissively by Center staff and told there was no need for follow-up. According to the patient, “overall, there was a major lack of care and consideration for me.” As evidenced by its practices, the Center is apparently uninterested in its patients’ outcomes over the long term.
Additionally, despite the University’s claim in its review that “[m]ental health care and counseling is a priority at the Center,” the Times found that the Center largely outsources this to outside therapists, many of whom do not possess relevant expertise. It appears the Center’s practice only requires a single letter from such a therapist to vet a minor’s mental health before prescribing the minor potentially irreversible medications. The Times also confirmed numerous patients at the Center who had severe psychiatric issues, including one on testosterone who stopped taking schizophrenia medication without consulting a doctor.
This new report demands a fresh evaluation of the Center’s practices. To date, however, you have refused to provide my office with more than 5,000 documents, which I requested in a letter on April 27, 2023. Please provide such documents to my office immediately. Please also explain any apparent discrepancies between the University’s internal review and the Times report, including anything contained in the Times report that you may consider inaccurate.
Finally, please describe in detail the Center’s plans to comply fully with §§191.1720 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, which generally prohibits the prescription or administration of puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to minors, among other provisions.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Josh Hawley
United States Senator