Houston doctor who criticized surgeries for transgender patients pleads not guilty to sharing Texas Children’s Hospital records

Houston, Texas — A Texas doctor who says he is a whistleblower over transgender care of minors is accused of illegally obtaining private information about patients at the nation’s largest pediatric hospital who were not under his care.

Federal prosecutors say Dr. Eithan Haim, a 34-year-old surgeon, grabbed the information and shared it with a conservative activist with “the intent to cause malicious harm” to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

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

ORIGINAL STORY: Houston doctor accused of obtaining children’s medical records without authorization

Haim, a Dallas surgeon, had previously done work at Texas Children’s Hospital as part of his residency. The indictment against Haim alleges that in 2023, he requested to reactivate his ID to access information about pediatric patients he was not caring for, including names, treating physicians and treatment codes , then forwarded the information to a media contact.

Haim publicly identified himself as the person who gave information about patients at Texas Children’s to a conservative activist, who published an article alleging that the hospital was secretly providing transgender care to minors. At the time, transgender care for minors was legal in Texas, but the hospital 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 passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits.

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

“I have maintained since day one that I have done nothing wrong. We will fight tooth and nail, defend whistleblowers everywhere,” Haim said outside the courthouse on Monday.

Texas Children’s declined to comment on the charges against Haim. In previous statements, hospital officials have said its doctors have always provided care within the law.