Missouri’s Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, announced the launch of a multi-agency investigation into a pediatric transgender center in St. Louis, following allegations from former case worker Jamie Reed that children were being routinely prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy without proper mental health assessments. Reed’s claims were made public in an op-ed she published in The Free Press, a news website started by former New York Times op-ed writer and editor, Bari Weiss.
Reed’s 23-page affidavit, shared on the attorney general’s website, alleges that the staff at the center repeatedly violated its own treatment guidelines, including prescribing hormone therapy to minors as young as 13, without complete informed parental consent and without proper assessments of the child’s needs. Reed also claimed that providers at the center only used therapists who they knew would approve medical transitions and that parents were pressured into consenting to the treatments.
Washington University in St. Louis, the parent institution of the Children’s Hospital, released a statement on its website acknowledging the allegations and stating that it is taking the matter seriously. The state’s Division of Professional Registration is investigating whether any licensed professionals at the center are in violation of licensing board policies, while the Department of Social Services will be investigating concerns surrounding fraud, waste, or abuse in the state’s Medicaid program.
