The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted Dr. Eithan Haim on four counts of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) after he provided evidence that Texas Children’s Hospital was performing “gender-affirming care” on patients as young as 11. Haim, a resident at the hospital, shared documents with journalist Christopher Rufo, who broke the story and raised concerns about the hospital’s practices.
Federal agents first approached Haim in June 2023, shortly before he was set to graduate from the hospital’s residency program, identifying him as a potential “leaker.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari then began threatening Haim with prosecution, leading to U.S. marshals serving him with the indictment at his home earlier this week.
Marcella Burke, one of Haim’s attorneys, states that her client is eager to present his side of the story in court, confident that the truth will lead to the correct decision. Rufo, who maintains that the documents shared with him were carefully redacted to protect individual identities, believes the charges against Haim are baseless and part of a larger pattern of the Biden administration’s Department of Justice targeting political opponents.
The case against Dr. Haim has the potential to become an “inflection point,” as some fear that a guilty verdict could deter other medical professionals from exposing controversial practices in the future.
