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| (L) Dr. Eithan Haim walks out of the Bob Casey United States Courthouse after appearing for his arraignment on June 17, 2024 (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)(R) Chris Rufo Editor City Desk (Wkipedia) |
Dr. Eithan Haim, a 34-year-old surgeon is accused of illegally obtaining private information on patients from the nation's largest pediatric hospital who were not under his care, CBS News reports.
The indictment charges that Haim illegally obtained information on both children and adults being treated for gender dysphoria at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital locations.
Federal prosecutors said Dr. Haim, snatched the information and shared it with a right-wing extremist Chris Rufo with "intent to cause malicious harm" to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
Contributing Editor at City Journal and far-right propagandist Chris Rufo is largely responsible for the rise of “critical race theory” as a major concern for the GOP, according to Vox. He has played a crucial role in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s attempt to transform Florida’s universities, spearheading the takeover and transformation of the New College of Florida, a small liberal arts school, as proof of concept for a new right-wing model for higher education.
The four-count indictment alleges Haim obtained personal information including patient names, treatment codes, and the attending physician from Texas Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) electronic system without authorization. He allegedly obtained this information under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas Press Release , the indictment charges that Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and had previous rotations at TCH as part of his residency.
In April 2023, Haim allegedly requested to re-activate his login access at TCH to access pediatric patients not under his care. The indictment alleges he obtained unauthorized access to personal information of pediatric patients under false pretenses and later disclosed it to a media contact.
Haim has publicly identified himself as the person who gave the information about patients at Texas Children's to Chris Rufo who published a story that the hospital was providing transgender care for minors in secret. At the time, transgender care for minors was legal in Texas, but the hospital under pressure from anti-LGBTQ crusader Texas AG Ken Paxton announced in 2022 that it would stop gender-affirming therapies.
Texas lawmakers banned transgender care for minors in September 2023. That law is being challenged in court
At least 25 states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits.
"I have maintained from day one that I have done nothing wrong. We're going to fight this tooth and nail, stand up for whistleblowers everywhere," Haim said outside the courthouse Monday.
Texas Children's declined to comment on the charges against Haim. In previous statements, hospital officials said its doctors have always provided care within the law.
Haim pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to four counts of wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information.
If convicted, criminal indictments unsealed Monday indicate that Haim faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum possible fine. He was released on $10,000 bond.
