Rating: Transsupportive, Erin in the Morning, October 13, 2023 (PDF archive) (HTML archive) (Take Action)
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Content Summary
Family Of Missouri Trans Kid: Jamie Reed Lied About Liver Damage, Caused By COVID Drug And Not HRT
In February, Jamie Reed, a worker who handled patient intake forms and emails, brought forth a series of explosive allegations against the Washington University School of Medicine’s gender clinic. Among these allegations were claims that the university was “harming” trans youth by supporting their transition and offering gender-affirming care. Her accusations, first seen in The Free Press, contained several misrepresentations about gender-affirming medical care. In the months that followed, a number of families have come forward, asserting that Reed has lied their care. On Thursday, investigative reporters from KMOV4’s First Alert 4 team, after speaking with one such family, uncovered a pivotal inaccuracy that could damage Jamie Reed’s credibility: a trans teen’s liver damage was likely caused by a COVID medication, not the hormone blocking medication she was on.
In Jamie Reed’s allegations against the gender clinic, she claimed that one trans girl (who she intentionally misgenders and uses male pronouns for) was sent to another unit of the hospital and immediately taken off the drug after she experienced liver damage:
“As with most cancer drugs, bicalutamide has a long list of side effects, and this patient experienced one of them: liver toxicity. [She] was sent to another unit of the hospital for evaluation and immediately taken off the drug. Afterward, [her] mother sent an electronic message to the Transgender Center saying that we were lucky her family was not the type to sue.”
This allegation was one of a handful of claims that the gender affirming care clinic was harming trans youth despite following international protocol for their care. This claim even appeared in Reed’s sworn affidavit to Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has personally opposed gender affirming care and who led an effort to ban such care for many transgender adults earlier this year, before those efforts were blocked in court.
You can see this allegation here:
The family provided medical records to the investigative team, demonstrating that the liver damage occurred after the intake of a COVID medication known to cause such harm, not from bicalutamide. Moreover, the family pointed out that Jamie Reed omitted a crucial part of their communication with the gender-affirming care clinic concerning the event. In the lines following the section of their email mentioned in Jamie Reed’s accusations, the family wrote, “we don’t regret any decision and would never have denied our daughter these life-saving treatments.” Jamie Reed’s allegations indeed leave this portion of the email out of her reporting.
This is not the first time Reed’s allegations have come under dispute by families who were treated at the clinic. An article in the Missouri Independent featured multiple families contesting her assertions. Several parents, for example, noted prolonged waits spanning months and numerous visits to receive care, contradicting Reed’s allegations of patients being rushed into treatment. Another family highlighted that their trans child was advised to “put surgery out of your mind until you’re 18,” conflicting with Reed’s claim that the center made surgical referrals. Jess Jones, a colleague of Reed, corroborates this, mentioning the clinic never made such referrals. Jones further claims that Reed proposed patients undergo IQ tests to qualify for gender-affirming care, a procedure neither endorsed by any leading medical institution nor backed by scientific validation.
Despite this, Reed’s allegations have been used by those who oppose care for transgender youth. In Missouri, Senate Republicans cited Jamie Reed’s claims to pass a gender affirming care ban for trans youth in the state. She has submitted sworn testimony in favor of gender affirming care bans for trans youth in other states, such as Indiana. In Nebraska, a legislator incorrectly referred to Reed as a doctor, and stated that her allegations justify banning gender affirming care for trans youth. Her credibility directly has played a role in these bans.
Jamie Reed’s platform continues to grow among pseudoscience organizations like SEGM and Genspect, which are both holding conferences in the next month. She will be speaking at both of these conferences alongside noted anti-trans activists such as James Lindsey, who played a role in the proliferation of the “groomer” slur for LGBTQ+ people and allies, and Stella O’Malley, who has called transgender children fetishists who deserve “no empathy.” For her former patients and trans youth worldwide, however, her platform comes at their expense, and her assertions, despite lacking credibility, have helped lead to a loss of their care.
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