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Legal fund for surgeon who exposed 'secret trans procedures on Texas kids' tops $765K after DOJ indictment
Donations have poured in for the Texas surgeon who blew the whistle on secret sex change procedures on kids at his hospital after his indictment on federal charges.
Dr Eithan Haim's legal defense fund ballooned to more than $767,000 after he appeared in court on Monday for illegally obtaining private information on patients.
Those sending money praised Haim for 'holding the line' and 'standing up for children' in the face of 'corruption' at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
He in May 2023 released medical files showing that staff had provided puberty blockers and other gender care to kids, even after hospital bosses said they'd stopped doing so in March 2022.
The 34-year-old and his supporters say he's being unjustly targeted by the Biden administration's Justice Department for taking a stand against radical gender ideology.
Dr Eithan Haim, left, and his defense attorney, Ryan Patrick, speak to reporters outside court
Haim's revelations showed that Texas Children's Hospital continued providing gender-reassignment care to children even after officials insisted they had stopped
Prosecutors say he snatched the medical records and shared them with a conservative activist 'to cause malicious harm' to America's largest pediatric facility.
Haim on Monday pleaded not guilty in federal court to four counts of wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information.
'I have maintained from day one that I have done nothing wrong,' Haim said after the hearing.
'We're going to fight this tooth and nail, stand up for whistleblowers everywhere.'
He faces up to 10 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He was released on $10,000 bond.
He slammed what he calls a 'political prosecution meant to silence whistleblowers.'
'The most powerful investigative agency on the planet getting the facts so egregiously wrong cannot be attributed to simple incompetence,' he posted on X.
He says he needs funds to cover his legal costs in a case that's already forced him to cash in his retirement funds, investments, and other savings.
His supporters appear to agree, wiring sums as small as $5 and in many cases much larger via GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site.
'Thank you for fighting to keep our children safe!' said one anonymous donor.
'I wish you strength through this journey to continue to fight for what is just,' wrote another.
Some donors identified themselves as doctors or surgeons who were also worried about sex change care for children.
'Surgeons like us are the sharp end of the stick to fight this literal battle of good versus evil,' said an entry from Dan Downey, MD.
The Dallas surgeon, worked at Texas Children's as part of his residency.
In 2023, he allegedly asked to reactivate his login there to access information on child patients not under his care, including names, attending physicians and treatment codes.
He then allegedly turned the information over to a media contact.
Haim has publicly admitted he gave the files to Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who published a redacted version of his screengrabs with patients' names and other details omitted.
Haim's whistleblower documents (pictured) showed that Texas Children's Hospital continued to provide sex change care for young patients after staff said they had stopped doing so
The story alleged that children were secretly getting puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones from the hospital, which had in 2022 announced it was halting gender-affirming care for youth.
Texas lawmakers went on to ban sex change care for minors in September 2023.
That law is being challenged in court. Some two dozen have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, and most of those states face lawsuits.
Texas Children's declined to comment on the charges against Haim. Hospital officials say its doctors have always provided care within the law.
The hospital said it would stop sex change procedures on kids after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled in February 2022 that it could be a form of child abuse under state law.
Activist Rufo published Haim's documents in May 2023, showing TCH doctors had continued treating kids within days of the hospital's announcement, and continued doing so into 2023.
The records who how one TCH doctor performed trans procedures on youths aged from 12 to 17 who were visiting for 'gender dysphoria' and 'gender identity.'
One record revealed an appointment with an 11-year-old 'female-to-male transgender person' — three days after the hospital announced it was halting such treatments.
After the revelations, Paxton launched a probe into TCH, and the facility said again that it was halting gender reassignment treatments for children.
At the time, a TCH spokeswoman told DailyMail.com that doctors provided 'high-quality care for all patients … within the bounds of the law.'
Advocates of gender-affirming care say it is necessary treatment for suicide-prone minors.
Critics say kids are too young to opt for irreversible sex change treatments, and often just need mental health counselling instead.