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Fox News
7 hours ago
- Health
- Fox News
Doctor who blew whistle on transgender medicine mocks liberal justices' 'insane' dissent in landmark case
Print Close By Kristine Parks Published June 20, 2025 A Texas doctor who was prosecuted after exposing transgender medical treatments being given to children brutally mocked the liberal justices' dissenting opinion in Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti, calling their arguments "insane" and illogical in a scathing thread on X. In a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, the court upheld a Tennessee law banning transgender treatments for minors, with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor issuing the dissent. Dr. Eithan Haim, a general surgeon who formerly worked at Texas Children's Hospital, blasted the three liberal justices for arguing that the state law discriminated based on sex because "male adolescents can receive medicines that help them look like boys," but females can't access medicines that help them look like boys. "But that's insane," Haim wrote. "These treatments are meant for diagnosable pathologies in order to restore normal physiology." TRUMP DOJ DROPS CASE AGAINST TEXAS DOCTOR WHO BLEW WHISTLE ON TRANSGENDER MEDICINE FOR MINORS "It would be like saying a patient without cancer but 'identifies as having cancer' is being discriminated against because a doctor is refusing to give them chemotherapy," he mocked. He also criticized the liberal justices for claiming the majority opinion "contorts logic" while offering the aforementioned argument. "They have the audacity to claim the majority opinion 'contorts logic' while they rely on anti-logic," Haim wrote. Haim rebuked the justices for behaving as if they were "certified, practicing doctors" while defending puberty blockers, one of the transgender treatments at the center of the high-profile case. After the justices argued that children who identify as a different gender than their "sex identified at birth" should be allowed to take puberty blockers, Haim trashed the declaration as "sheer medical lunacy." "It is not real. It has no basis in objective, observable reality," he chastised. "It has as much legitimacy as your local Voodoo witch doctor - like using a rabbit's foot to treat a hemorrhaging carotid artery." YOUNG WOMAN WHO REGRETS GENDER TRANSITION CELEBRATES SUPREME COURT DECISION ON YOUTH TRANS TREATMENTS Haim accused the justices of not paying attention during oral arguments by citing "debunked" talking points about the safety of puberty blockers from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), an organization that sets standards of care for transgender medicine. "This is the same organization whose legitimacy was completely decimated during the oral arguments," he mocked. Haim also hit the justices for calling "gender-affirming care" a "matter of life and death" for some patients, which, he pointed out, even ACLU attorney Chase Strangio had to admit during oral arguments had no impact on rates of completed suicides. "This is like a judge endorsing a guilty verdict in a murder case after finding out the victim is still alive," he wrote. The doctor said there was even more "anti-logic and WPATH propaganda" from the justices he didn't mention before sounding the alarm about what that means for the justices sitting on the highest court in the nation. "Although we won this case, we should not fail to appreciate the severity of the situation," he warned. "These judges sit on the highest court in our country yet live in a reality informed by fantasy. This is not a good state of affairs," he concluded. Haim was prosecuted by the Biden Justice Department after he leaked documents to the media that revealed Texas Children's Hospital in Houston was performing transgender medical procedures on minors through May 2023. Hospital leadership had announced it had stopped providing sex-change surgeries and puberty blockers the year before, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled it constituted child abuse under state law. He was indicted on federal charges for obtaining protected individual health information for patients that were not under his care and without authorization. The charges were dropped by the DOJ just days after President Donald Trump took office. "The United States has finally agreed to drop the case against Dr. Haim, and the Court just granted dismissal," Marcella Burke, attorney for Eithan Haim, told Fox News Digital in January. "The case has been dismissed with prejudice so that the federal government can never again come after him for blowing the whistle on the secret pediatric transgender program at Texas Children's Hospital." The Supreme Court's press office did not immediately return a request for comment. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News' Kendall Tietz contributed to this report. Print Close URL
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China warns of blind box ‘addiction' among country's youth
The official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party has cautioned against an 'addiction' to blind card packs and blind boxes among the country's youths as the summer holiday approaches. People's Daily called for strict identity verification to curb the 'out-of-control consumption' of blind boxes – opaque packages containing randomly chosen toys, models or cards – by minors in a report published on Friday The items, with their allure of 'unknown surprises,' have become highly sought-after by young consumers, but hide 'commercial traps' that induce impulsive spending, the article said. As the 'guzi economy' or 'goods economy' – merchandise related to anime, games, idols and other copyrighted works – takes hold among China's younger generation, the newspaper's warning echoes regulations enacted four years ago to prevent online gaming addiction among teenagers. Because the exact product within a given blind box or card pack is not known until it is bought and opened, their purchase carries an element of gambling. This is augmented by the varied designs and rarity levels used by merchants to attract consumers, fuelling their desire to collect entire sets. In recent years, blind card packs have gained popularity among children and teenagers for their similarly unpredictable rewards, People's Daily said. 'Irrational consumption is common among children and teenagers, with some spending hundreds or even thousands of yuan in a single transaction to chase rare cards,' the authors concluded after interviewing multiple teenagers.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Children forced to skipper boats smuggling migrants from Morocco to Spain
A criminal gang has been forcing children to skipper boats smuggling migrants from Morocco to Spain, police have revealed. The 'highly organised network' made about €2.8 million ($3.2 million) in profit from charging more than 200 people €14,000 each to make the journey. Spain's National Police have now arrested eight members of the criminal gang, which is made up Spanish and Moroccan citizens, after raids on properties in Algeciras and Ibiza, as well as Ceuta, an enclave of Spain in Morocco. 'The network used minors as skippers in maritime smuggling operations, often recruited and trained by the organisation itself,' said Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency. 'This fact not only highlights and amplifies the risk of accidents and fatalities, but also exposes vulnerable youngsters to exploitation and coercion. This practice illustrates the ruthless and dehumanising nature of criminal networks, which prioritise profits over human life.' Along with migrants, the gang also simultaneously trafficked large amounts of cannabis resin to Spain, using the same vessels. On the way back to Morocco, the gang smuggled the drug Clonazepam to maximise their profits. Police found 10,800 tablets of the medication that is also taken by recreational drug users for its hallucinogenic effect. Authorities also seized 22kg of cannabis, €50,000 in cash, five vehicles, two boats, weapons, electronic devices and navigation equipment. Europol say the Spanish branch of the network operated from Ceuta and Algeciras, while the head of the Moroccan branch lived in Ibiza. They used a three-tiered structure comprising of leadership and co-ordination, maritime execution, and ground-level logistics. Smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean is a lucrative business for criminals and last year Spanish police smashed a trafficking ring that took about 1,000 people from Syria and Algeria into Europe by boat. Migrants from Syria were illegally transported through Lebanon and North Africa to the coast of Algeria for about €20,000 a person, it is alleged. From Algeria, they were sent across the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats and taken to unsanitary safe houses in Spain, police said. A total of 21 people were arrested in police raids in which four hotels were searched, three vehicles impounded and thousands of euros, US dollars and Algerian dinars seized. Other criminals also opened up a new route to take migrants from Morocco and Algeria into EU in which they first flew to the UK on tourist visas and were then smuggled in lorries to France. In total, 12 members of the Algerian-led gang have now been convicted for their part in the operation, in which each migrant was charged up to £1,200 ($1,600) for the trip. Video taken by a migrant from inside a lorry shows it filled with 39 Algerian and Moroccans, including a six-year-old boy. Those inside can be heard banging on the sides of the trailer, screaming and crying for assistance, with of shouting "open the door, open the door".
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Australia's teen social media ban put to ultimate test: skeptical kids
STORY: When 15-year-old Emanuel Casa tested the age-checking software Australia might use to enforce a social media ban for minors, he got a glimpse into his future. Six months from now, the system could ban him from social media. And he was shocked by how well it worked: "Some of them would be like pretty bang on, just like 14 years, and other ones would be like 16.087654 like a bunch of decimal numbers, but yeah." From December, social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok could face fines of more than $30 million if they don't take 'reasonable steps' to block underage users in Australia. This is in an effort by the government to protect younger users' mental and physical health. The platforms currently require users to be at least 13 to sign up. The country is now trialing a photo-based age-checking software to help enforce the new law. 14-year-old Charlie Price also participated in a trial that tested four software options with 60 peers, and his age was guessed correctly. But it wasn't foolproof. "Most of mine were accurate, I had a couple of friends that, one of them said that they were like 20-something so, you know, a bit here and there, but mine were usually on point." While Price says he wouldn't try to get around the ban, he thinks others might. "So when it got my age right, it would be pretty difficult to get around that. Like if somehow I got my age wrong then I could get through that, but if it doesn't get my age wrong then I can't find a workaround by myself." His experience highlights a key concern for child protection advocates, tech firms and even trial organizers themselves: Even if the software works in trials, young people may still find ways to bypass it in real life. Andrew Hammond is a general manager at tech contractor KJR who helped run the trial, said the software works but isn't perfect and could be fooled. "I mean, personally, my personal opinion is yeah. I'm a father of three daughters, they are all over 16 now, but we lived through the social media, sort of the adoption of social media with my eldest daughter, and then the younger two sort of came through when it was more common place and so, I think as a parent and a technologist, I think the technology, it's not foolproof and there's no silver bullet solution to every use case that there is, but I think this is a, it's a move in the right direction." Trial organizers, including Hammond, won't recommend specific products, but will present findings on June 20 and give a full report to the government by the end of July. This will help the country's eSafety Commissioner advise ministers, who want to reduce risks like cyberbullying and harmful online content.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Potterville man ordered to stand trial on sexual assault of a minor charges
LANSING - A 40-year-old Potterville man has been ordered to stand trial in the rape of a minor, state prosecutors said. Robert Lee Peters was charged earlier this year and accused of sexually assaulting a minor under the age of 13. He was ordered to stand trial by Judge Adrianne Van Langevelde on June 17 on four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to court records. He faces up to life in prison if convicted as charged. Cunningham set his bond at $100,000, court records show. His attorney had no immediate comment. The Michigan Attorney General's Office is prosecuting the case. The incidents, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said in a statement, took place between 2018 and 2021 in Eaton County. Nessel's office said the victim in the case, whose gender was not released, disclosed the assault in 2023 and Michigan State Police investigated. 'I commend the tremendous courage of the victim in coming forward,' Nessel said in a statement. 'Sexual assault cases, especially those involving minors, can be exceptionally challenging. I would like to thank the Michigan State Police and prosecutors in my office for their dedication and hard work in ensuring this case moves forward to trial.' Peters is scheduled for a status conference in Circuit Court on Aug. 15. Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@ Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Potterville man to stand trial on sexual assault of a minor charges
