Dr. Ethan Haim came forward in the fall of 2022 to expose one of the nation’s largest children’s hospitals for violating state law by performing gender-manipulation hormone treatments and surgeries on minor. (See related story) Soon after Vanessa Sivadge, a Texas Children’s nurse, came forward to corroborate Haim’s allegations. Now Haim is charged with four felonies, and Sivadge is out of a job. (See related story)
The indictment accuses Haim, 34, of accessing sensitive patient data such as names, treatment codes and physician notes without authorization from TCH. It is alleged that Haim accessed this information under false pretenses, Houston television station Fox 26 reported.
Sivadge sought religious accommodation and asked to be moved to another part of the hospital. Instead, she was fired last week. She says she has no regrets. Now her bio on the social media platform X reads: "Nurse. Whistleblower. Truth teller."
Haim’s trail is set for October. Attorney Marcella Burke, who is representing both Haim and Sivadge, says they’ve shown bravery in the face of fear.
“So, Ethan, Vanessa, we have other whistleblowers across the country at different hospitals and clinics; these are really brave people. They’re afraid of the government, they’re afraid of losing their jobs, they’re afraid of getting dodged or swatted or harassed in public. They have all these legitimate fears. They put all of that to the side and decided they were willing to endure what the government says or does. They believe in the Constitution, and they believe at the end of the day they’re going to prevail,” Burke said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
Texas legislators in 2023 passed a law banning hormone treatments and surgeries on minors. That was in response to a report from journalist-activist Christopher Rufo. Haim had come forward silently as Rufo’s chief source.
Hospital says one thing, does another
In September 2022, Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton had already publicly stated that it would be considered “child abuse” under state law for any health care practitioners who performed gender-manipulation surgeries or prescribed gender-manipulation drugs to minors.
Texas Children’s Hospital responded with its own announcement that it would end gender-manipulation procedures. But it didn’t.
A key finding in the Haim case will be whether the information released was identifiable as the defense claims, said Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy for The Heritage Foundation.
Regardless of that finding, the DOJ is baring its teeth by pursuing Haim on criminal charges.
“If there is a violation – I'm not saying there's one here – but if there is, it's civil. You get a penalty. You don't have armed U.S. Attorney's office or FBI agents coming knocking at your door and then threatening to put you in jail for blowing the whistle to protect children from potentially unlawful activity,” Severino said told Washington Watch in June.
The consequences for Haim could be "very serious," says attorney Burke.
“He could go to jail for 10 years, and there’s an enhancement that could put him jail for up to 18 years,” Burke explained to show host Jody Hice. “We believe as his attorneys that it’s very misguided, that the government has the facts wrong, has the law wrong; and it’s astonishing, frankly, that the case has been brought.”
Sivadge first came forward in May 2023. She was seeing the number of transgender patients at her clinic increase and was being asked to do things that violated her Christian beliefs. At one point she was asked to teach a healthy teenage boy how to self-administer estrogen injections.
Soon after, Sivadge was Rufo’s source in a second Texas Children’s story, one alleging Medicaid fraud by Drs. Richard Ogden Roberts and David Paul, two of the hospital’s leading physicians.
FBI knocks on the door
Last July, Sivadge was visited by FBI agents at her home while she and her husband were entertaining guests. That was when Sivadge decided she needed to go public with her story.
“What’s happening in this country with whistleblowers in different areas, especially in this area where the government is now coming to our homes to intimidate us – and they’re coming after us, not the doctors and the hospitals doing these things illegally – it’s so concerning and so scary,” Burke said.
