House Judiciary Democrats grill Dr. Eithan Haim during a hearing this week over his whistleblower account. (Fox News Digital/House Judiciary Committee)
At one point during the hearing, ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., questioned Haim's lawyer, Mark Lytle, about the precedent behind Haim’s case, drawing a comparison to a hypothetical scenario involving vaccination records for measles.
"If I’m in Texas, and there’s a law requiring children to get measles vaccines, and I learn that another doctor’s patients aren’t vaccinated, does that give me the right to access their medical records and release them to the media or an ideological group?" Raskin asked.
"Dr. Haim didn't break into any systems," Lytle responded. "He was authorized to see these records by Texas Children's Hospital, and the prosecutor knew that."
"Was he authorized to release the information?" Raskin asked.
"He was because he was a whistleblower, and he was reporting wrongdoing," Lytle said.
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A view of the outside of Texas Children's Hospital, which performed transgender medical procedures on minors, according to whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
"This case is an example of that," Lytle said. "It's extremely rare for anyone to be charged with criminal HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] violations, let alone the maximum 10-year charge. It's really outrageous, and the fact that he was charged in this way shows that the prosecutor was out to get him. He was biased."
Later in the hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., further pressed Haim about releasing the medical records, asking whether children and their families should worry about their private information being released.
"When children are being mutilated and sterilized," Haim said, adding that personal information, like the names of the patients, was not included.
Haim, a surgeon formerly affiliated with Texas Children's Hospital, was indicted on federal charges last year for allegedly accessing and sharing private medical records of minors receiving transgender medical procedures.
Haim's whistleblower report occurred during a transitional period in Texas' policies regarding transgender treatments for minors. In March 2022, Texas Children's Hospital announced it would stop such services to children following Gov. Greg Abbott's directive to investigate such treatments as potential child abuse. The hospital later resumed these services after determining compliance with existing laws. In June 2024, the Texas Supreme Court upheld Senate Bill 14, which prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the state, with the law taking effect on Sept. 1, 2024.
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DOJ prosecutors claimed Haim obtained these records under false pretenses, violating the HIPAA and providing them to the media to harm the hospital's reputation. Facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Haim pleaded not guilty, arguing that no personally identifiable information was disclosed and that he was blowing the whistle on "child abuse" in the hospital.
In January, the DOJ dismissed the case "with prejudice," preventing future prosecution on the same grounds. Four days later, President Donald Trump signed the "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation" executive order, suspending federal funds for gender-transition procedures for minors, including coverage under Medicaid.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dems-spar-whistleblower-who-exposed-childrens-hospital-performing-trans-surgeries-minors