ST. LOUIS — The Missouri attorney general called on St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University to stop prescribing puberty blockers to new patients in a letter Friday.
This comes after Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced an investigation into allegations made by a former employee of Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital.
In an article, a former employee alleges the center was not thoroughly assessing patients before moving ahead with hormonal or surgical treatment and would disregard the rights of parents.
“We are hopeful that the leaders of these institutions will choose to do the right thing for the safety of Missouri’s children, as we work to root out any possibility of children being harmed by predatory adults with a radical social agenda,” Bailey said in a news release posted online Friday. He called on the center to respond by Tuesday.
"I applaud your announcement yesterday to quickly launch an internal investigation," Bailey wrote in the letter to St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University. "As the university’s statement acknowledges, the allegations against the Center are enough to leave anyone ‘alarmed’ and must be taken ‘very seriously.’"
In a statement, Washington University said they were "alarmed by the allegations reported in the article" and were reviewing the facts of the cases referenced.
Senator Josh Hawley called for a federal investigation.
Danielle Meert was the past St. Louis chapter leader of TransParent USA and said the group's goal is to provide support for parents of trans children.
Meert has a transgender son and she was shocked to learn the whistleblower who came forward was her child's caseworker.
Meert claims her family's interaction at the center for the last four years was nowhere near this.
"Our experience was fantastic. Saying that kids walk in and get hormones right away has not been our experience. It was about nine months until we had a puberty blocker was implanted," Meert added.
Meert worries about what these allegations can do.
Meert said, "I’m so thankful they’ve been here for us and so disappointed that this is another thing that trans kiddos will have to worry about."
Just last year, two doctors from the Transgender Center testified in Jefferson City.
The doctors shared, "They are mostly seeing mental health professionals, we are talking about ways to feel more comfortable in their bodies and when indicated we talk about gender affirming hormones. Not every teen needs to begin hormones or have puberty blockers before."
They also testified that surgeries are not recommended under the age 18 and they have a team of experts to support the child.
It's testimony Missouri State Senator Nick Schroer remembers well.
But now, he questions the comments.
"It's gonna make a second guess a lot of what the witnesses are saying, the experts that are coming in from this clinic," he said.
Schroer added, this affidavit is troubling and says uncovering the truth is important.
"I think the Missouri Senate needs to have a committee to investigate it," Schroer advised.
Bailey and Hawley told 5 On Your Side they were not available for an interview Friday.
Transgender medical treatment for children and teens is increasingly under attack in many states, labeled child abuse and subject to criminalizing bans. But it has been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.
Many clinics use treatment plans pioneered in Amsterdam 30 years ago, according to a recent review in the British Psych Bulletin. Since 2005, the number of youth referred to gender clinics has increased as much as tenfold in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Finland, the review said.
Several Missouri lawmakers this year filed bills to ban gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth, and Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said that's a priority for Senate Republicans.
Bailey has been outspoken on social issues since he took office in January. Republican Gov. Mike Parson appointed Bailey, the former top lawyer for the Governor's Office, to replace now-U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt as the state attorney general.
During his roughly one month in office so far, Bailey has called on school boards to adopt policies against children attending drag shows and warned CVS and Walgreens not to sell abortion medications.
Bailey last month officially launched his campaign for attorney general in 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.