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Dr. Eisan Haim, the Texas doctor who has admitted to leaking hospital records that showed doctors performing sex-change procedures on children and has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges related to the leak, has vowed to fight the charges and considers himself a whistleblower, but could face 10 years in prison.
Heim is trying to remain positive, claiming that federal trials are “unpredictable” — the Department of Justice (DOJ) rarely loses cases and boasts a 99.6% conviction rate — but he believes the upcoming legal battle is necessary.
“Doctors and nurses are the last pillars holding up this Trump Tower,” he told Fox News Digital, “and when it comes down, these people will have to face the consequences of their complicity in and perpetration of the greatest medical crime in the history of mankind.”
Department of Justice unseals indictment against Texas doctor accused of providing gender-reassignment treatment to minors
Dr. Eisan Haim was indicted by the Department of Justice for exposing sex-reassignment surgeries performed on minors at Texas Children’s Hospital. (Screenshot/X | Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Health care litigation attorney Ron Chapman also believes Heim has a strong free speech case because the leaked documents were of public interest amid a major cultural clash.
“If the purpose of this case was to provide information to the public, this is a significant free speech concern, because he likely didn’t trust the Department of Justice with this information,” he said. “That’s why he didn’t give it to the Department of Justice. He trusted the press. So I think this is a pretty significant free speech defense.”
Chapman said it also appears the government is doing everything in its power to prosecute Haim. HIPAA does not have criminal penalties for violations, and investigations are the responsibility of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Violations typically result in fines for hospitals or facilities.
“While the government may technically have the ability to prove this element because of the nature of the access, I think there are a number of very compelling defense arguments in this case that the intent was not illegal, it was not an attempt to make money or defraud, it was for legitimate public concern and that really should be First Amendment protected conduct,” Chapman said.
Parents group responds to study that says puberty suppressants may cause permanent damage in boys: ‘Unacceptable’
Sex-reassignment surgery and treatment for children is protected in some states but illegal in others. (Getty Images)
But legislation signed by President Biden this year could pose a major obstacle.
Biden signed an executive order in April to protect Americans’ personal information. The order came into effect as part of an effort to stamp out the popular social media app TikTok amid national security concerns. But Chapman said the restrictions “would make unauthorized access without specific authorization a crime.”
“You’ve created a vast organization that can target any individual who decides to shed light on something. Our goal in this country should be openness, not silos and secrecy,” he added. “I remain extremely concerned that this has led to federal criminal indictments, let alone multiple federal criminal indictments with such dire consequences.”
The Department of Justice unsealed the indictment against Heim on Monday. The charges relate to HIPAA violations stemming from Heim’s allegations that Texas Children’s Hospital secretly performed sex-reassignment surgeries and treatments on minors.
According to a previously unsealed indictment filed May 29 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Haim allegedly attempted to falsely reactivate login credentials that had expired due to lack of activity.
The indictment, filed by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, alleges that Haim “unauthorizedly obtained personally identifiable health information (protected by HIPAA) about pediatric patients” and “intended to maliciously harm TCH, its pediatric patients, and its physicians through contact with members of the media.”
If convicted, Haim could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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Dr. Eisan Haim says the hospital continued to covertly perform gender-affirming procedures despite claims it was ending its gender-affirming program. (The Ingraham Angle/Screenshot)
The indictment accuses Heim of illegally accessing personal information from the hospital’s electronic systems, including patient names, treatment codes and treating physicians. Heim said he discovered through the documents that the Houston-based children’s hospital continued to perform gender-reassignment medical procedures, including implantable puberty suppressants, according to the initial report.
The hospital announced it would stop performing gender reassignment surgeries on children in 2022. The announcement came after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said some medical interventions could be considered child abuse under state law. The hospital did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Haim, who said he rejected a plea deal, told Fox News Digital that FBI agents first came to his home in June 2023. Over the next six months, Haim said he decided to go public with the incident.
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“The problem is, if you legitimize wrongdoing in this process, you close the door to all other whistleblowers in the nation’s health care system,” Heim said, “but by that choice you empower these individuals, because you give them a legitimacy that they don’t deserve, right?”
“So even if the stakes are the highest stakes, which is my freedom, from that standpoint, of course it’s something we have to do, because the other options are so much scarier.”
Fox News Digital’s Kristin Parks contributed to this report.
