Legal fund for surgeon who exposed ‘secret trans procedures on Texas kids’ tops $765K after DOJ indictment

Donations have poured in for the Texas surgeon who blew the whistle on secret gender reassignment procedures on children at his hospital after his indictment on federal charges.

Dr.’s legal defense fund Eithan Haim soared to more than $767,000 after appearing in court on Monday charged with illegally obtaining private patient information.

Those who sent money praised Haim for “holding the line” and “standing up for children” despite the “corruption” at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

In May 2023, he released medical records showing that staff had provided puberty blockers and other gender care to children, even after hospital bosses said they had stopped doing so in March 2022.

The 34-year-old and his supporters say he is being unfairly targeted by the Biden administration’s Justice Department because he takes a stand against radical gender ideology.

Prosecutors say he took the medical records and shared them with a conservative activist “to cause malicious harm” to America’s largest pediatric facility.

Haim pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday to four counts of unlawfully obtaining individually identifiable health information.

“I have maintained from day one that I did nothing wrong,” Haim said after the hearing.

‘We are going to fight this tooth and nail and stand up for whistleblowers everywhere.’

He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He was released on a $10,000 bond.

He denounced what he called a “political persecution designed to silence whistleblowers.”

“The most powerful investigative agency in the world so blatantly misinterpreting the facts cannot be attributed to simple incompetence,” he wrote on X.

He says he needs money to cover his legal fees in a case that is already forcing him to cash out his pension funds, investments and other savings.

His supporters seem to agree; they transfer amounts as small as $5 and in many cases much larger via GiveSendGoa Christian crowdfunding site.

“Thank you for fighting to keep our children safe!” said an anonymous donor.

“I wish you strength on this journey to continue fighting for what is just,” wrote another.

Some donors identified themselves as physicians or surgeons who were also concerned about gender reassignment in children.

“Surgeons like us are the sharp end of the stick waging this literal battle between good and evil,” said a submission from Dan Downey, MD.

The Dallas surgeon worked at Texas Children’s as part of his residency.

In 2023, he allegedly asked to reactivate his login there to access information about child patients who were not in his care, including names, treating physicians and treatment codes.

He then allegedly transferred the information to a media contact.

Haim has publicly admitted that he gave the files to Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who published a redacted version of his screenshots that omitted patient names and other details.

The story alleged that children were secretly given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones by the hospital, which had announced in 2022 that it would end gender-affirming care for young people.

Texas lawmakers banned gender reassignment care for minors in September 2023.

That law is being challenged in court. About two dozen have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, and most of these states are facing lawsuits.

Texas Children’s declined to comment on the charges against Haim. Hospital officials say the doctors have always provided care within the law.

The hospital said it would halt gender reassignment procedures on children after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled in February 2022 that it could be a form of child abuse under state law.

Activist Rufo published Haim’s documents in May 2023, which showed that TCH doctors had continued to treat children within days of the hospital’s announcement, and continued to do so into 2023.

It documents how a TCH doctor performed trans procedures on young people aged 12 to 17 who were visiting for ‘gender dysphoria’ and ‘gender identity’.

One record revealed an appointment with an 11-year-old “female-to-male transgender” – three days after the hospital announced it would stop such treatments.

Following the revelations, Paxton launched an investigation into TCH, and the facility again said it was discontinuing gender reassignment treatments for children.

A TCH spokeswoman told DailyMail.com at the time that doctors “provided high-quality care to all patients … within the limits of the law.”

Advocates of gender-affirming care say it is a necessary treatment for minors who are prone to suicide.

Critics say children are too young to opt for irreversible gender reassignment treatments, and often just need mental health care instead.