Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey of Missouri has filed a counter-lawsuit against Washington University in St. Louis (WU) on Thursday due to their refusal to comply with his investigation into the Pediatric Transgender Clinic. The lawsuit claims that the university backed away from the agreement to provide the records, which Bailey claims is due to federal interference from the Biden administration.
“We will not let Joe Biden and his federal bureaucrats interfere with our investigation into the pediatric transgender clinic,” Bailey stated. “These documents are critical to exposing that children were subject to irreversible, life-altering procedures without full and informed parental consent. We’ve been fighting to protect children since the day I took office, and we will not stop now.”
The investigation, which opened in February after a whistleblower revealed that WU’s Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital was allegedly rushing hundreds of children into transitioning, was progressing well until the university stopped sending the requested documents.After the attorney general’s office agreed to WU’s proposed redaction of “personal health information,” the university continued to redact “full paragraphs or entire pages of responsive and relevant material.”
Bailey believes that the university stopped cooperating with the investigation due to pushback from the Biden administration cited through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If this is true, the Biden administration has proven that they prioritize transgender rights above the safety and well-being of minors.
While transgender advocacy is an important cause, it cannot be done at the expense of the health and rights of minors. Without parental consent and advice, children are not in a position to make informed and life-altering decisions for themselves.
Rushing children into minors is not only morally wrong but also incredibly harmful, both on psychological and physical levels. That is why the attorney general is determined to continue his investigation in order to protect the children of Missouri.
These documents are critical to exposing that children were subject to irreversible, life-altering procedures without full and informed parental consent.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) December 6, 2023
“We will not stop now,” Bailey said in a press release. It is clear that the attorney general is serious about protecting the children in his state from the dangers of transitioning before they are mentally and physically prepared to do so.