In Texas, the nation’s largest children’s hospital is halting gender-affirming care for trans youths
Washington PostFeb 06, 2022
DOJ Indicts Texas Doctor for Alleged Data Leak
story
Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has filed a four-count indictment against Dr. Eithan Haim for allegedly illegally obtaining and leaking medical records of child transgender care at the Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) in Houston.
A Dallas-based surgeon, Haim previously trained at TCH during his medical residency. Following TCH's pledge to suspend its transgender care for children in 2022, the DOJ claims he reactivated his TCH login in 2023 to leak records showing the hospital was still doing so in secret.
The indictment argues that Haim "obtained unauthorized individually identifiable health HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] protected information" and "caused malicious harm" to the hospital, patients, and doctors by releasing data to journalist Christopher Rufo.
The Spin
Left narrative
If illegally accessing HIPPA-protected patient records under false pretenses wasn't egregious enough, the medical services Dr. Eithan Haim thought he exposed were for important transgender healthcare treatments for vulnerable patients. Through either ignorance, malice, or both, Haim chose to illegally reveal sensitive private and protected medical records. For those crimes, he's now facing the consequences.
Right narrative
Eithan Haim is a hero who exposed TCH for secretly falsifying medical records to continue its harmful transgender practices after promising to stop. TCH took children as young as 11 — who were dealing with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts — and continued its procedures regardless. Dr. Haiam's ethical motivations must be considered in the context of alleged HIPAA violations.
