Internal investigation clears St. Louis transgender clinic of misconduct allegations

An internal investigation by Washington University in St. Louis found that allegations made by a former employee of its pediatric and adolescent transgender clinic were unsubstantiated. The employee had alleged that children were being prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy without appropriate mental health assessments and that the center was regularly referring minors for gender transition surgery. The university said that it follows appropriate policies and procedures and treats patients according to the currently accepted standard of care. The center will now require written consent from parents prior to prescribing gender-affirming medications and custody agreements before an initial visit if the patient is a minor. Physicians will no longer perform gender-affirming operations on minors.