ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated a "huge win" on Tuesday after a whistleblower claimed that Washington University's Transgender Center was soon shutting down.
Washington University officials, however, said the claim was unfounded.
"The scope of care provided at the Center changed last year after Missouri passed a new law on the subject," Washington University said in an emailed statement to 5 On Your Side. "Since then, we have continued to support our transgender patients appropriately and in accordance with the law. We have no plans to change that approach."
Sources also told 5 On Your Side the center is not shutting down. A doctor at the center did reportedly go practice in a state safer for transgender people and, because of that, the center is readjusting to meet the needs of its current patients.
The shut down claim was shared by Jamie Reed, the same woman who alleged the center was not doing its due diligence to thoroughly assess patients before moving ahead with treatment and would disregard the rights of parents. Despite the claims, an investigation into the center led by Washington University uncovered no misconduct.
Bailey, who launched an investigation into the clinic after Reed's first claims, shared Reed's recent claims in a press release, saying the center's closure is a "huge win." Bailey also attempted to access private medical records of transgender children who visited the center based off Reed's claims, an attempt that was recently blocked by a St. Louis judge.
St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte ruled the health information sought in Bailey’s demands is protected, and the data is not relevant to an investigation under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which is the state’s consumer protection law. A third layer of protection for the information, the judge ruled, is the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which prohibits the disclosure of personal health information without authorization.