Juvenile trans-surgery whistleblower comes forward after 'wiping out' his savings to rebuff fed probe
Whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim, who came forward as a then-surgeon at a hospital in Texas allegedly wrongly executing transgender surgeries on minors, spoke to Fox News about his experience.
A former Texas Children's Hospital surgeon spoke to Fox News after identifying himself to another journalist as the whistleblower behind the release of documents showing the hospital allegedly had not abided by the state's new ban on transgender surgeries for juveniles.
In June 2023, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that bans children from being prescribed puberty blockers and taking part in hormone therapies.
Thursday on "The Ingraham Angle," host Laura Ingraham reported that Texas Children's Hospital in Houston had announced it would then stop providing such procedures to minors.
But not long after, whistleblower documents alleged the hospital never changed course to abide by the new state law, including one item purporting to report a doctor surgically inserting a drug-delivery implant in an 11-year-old patient.
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The whistleblower had come forward with the documents to journalist Christopher Rufo to expose the medical center's alleged behavior.
Dr. Eithan Haim, who identified himself as the whistleblower, told "The Ingraham Angle" that shortly after the documentation he provided to Rufo went public, federal agents with the Department of Health and Human Services served him at his home with a Justice Department letter stating he was a "potential target" in a "new criminal investigation."
Ingraham said Haim has since spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and "wiped out his savings." Haim has also since launched a GiveSendGo campaign as he continues to fight what he described as charges that are not yet entirely clear to him.
"Why exactly are they saying that they're coming after you?" Ingraham asked in that regard.
"You know, I wish I had a good answer for that, but honestly, I couldn't tell you. Your guess would probably be just as good as mine," Haim replied, adding that he believes it to be a "politically motivated investigation" because of what he called HHS' "ideological capture" and commitment to transgender ideology.
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Ingraham, an attorney herself, asked what the feds are exactly claiming as a reason to continue pursuing him, whether it be fraud, impropriety or some Medicare-related infraction, telling him there has to be a reason for the litigation.
"You would think so, but it seems to not be the case in my situation," he said.
"It's because I had told the truth, and that's one of the things — if you counter the dominant political ideology, they're going to come after you," Haim continued. "At some point, we have to fight against it."
Ingraham noted HHS' pivot toward quashing opposing the prescribed strategy or viewpoint began during the coronavirus pandemic.
Haim said Texas Children's remains a "phenomenal hospital" but is stuck with a "select few" faculty who refuse to do the "right thing."
He said he spoke with people who had done such gender surgery and felt a responsibility as a doctor to speak out to protect the patients and the medical profession itself.
"If we can't speak up about something like this, then we have no profession left. There has to be some degree of accountability."
Returning to his legal fight and how it is reportedly draining his savings, Haim reiterated his belief it is politically motivated at the federal level, but added that he has in turn found how many Americans actually support his blowing the whistle.
"So we have to be ready for whatever they have to come against us with, and that's the great thing about this situation because, once you decide to speak out, you have all these people who are willing to come to your side and help you out," he said.
The Daily Mail, which previously reported on Haim's whistleblowing documents, reported one doctor operated on minors between the ages of 12 and 17, while noting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has since begun investigating the case.
A spokesperson for the hospital told the outlet after Paxton launched his probe in 2023 that its faculty provide "high-quality care for all patients… within the bounds of the law."
Fox News reached out to Texas Children's Hospital, the DOJ and HHS and has not received a response.