New state laws will put an end to the practice of a Missouri transgender center that was criticized for prescribing hormones to children in a rush.

Washington University Transgender Center, St. Louis Children’s Hospital announced on Monday that it “will no longer prescribing puberty blocking hormones or cross-sex hormonals to minors in order to gender transition.”

After a whistleblower claimed in February that doctors were prescribing hormone drugs to children without screening their mental health, the center was a catalyst to state legislators who drafted a new law banning hormone therapy for those under 18.

Jamie Reed, a former caseworker, described the clinic’s practices as “morally and scientifically appalling”. She said that the practices “permanently harmed” children because they failed to consider “red flags” of mental health, glossed over possible side effects, and ignored the few people who decided to stop the transition.

Only patients who received hormones to confirm gender before Aug. 28, 2008, are exempted from the new law.

Officials from the university said that the Transgender Center has decided to stop providing such services for all of its patients – new and old – because the new legal claim created by the law for minors who took the medication.

Washington University issued a statement saying that “this legal claim creates an unsustainable level of liability for health care professionals, and it makes it impossible for us to provide comprehensive transgender treatment for minors without subjecting our university and providers to a level of liability which is unacceptable.”

The law sets a minimum of $500,000.

The center said that it is “disappointed” with its forced decision.

The program will continue to provide education, mental health support and medical care for children who identify as transgender.

Patients and parents at the clinic criticized Reed’s claims, saying they didn’t match their own experiences. They also said that Reed worked on the administrative side of the clinic and wasn’t able to see what happened in the medical appointments.

A New York Times investigation, which included interviews with more than 300 pages and dozens of local health care providers, former employees, and parents, corroborated some of the accusations made by the former case manager.

The report revealed that the clinic relied heavily on external therapists who had little experience in gender issues to determine whether their young patients were eligible for hormone drugs. It also found that they provided little or no support to former transgender patients.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has launched an investigation into Reed’s allegations, and Republicans across the state have seized upon her whistleblower report.

The parent of an ex-patient at the transgender centre blamed the political closure of the hormone drug program.

Kim Hutton told the St. Louis Dispatch on Monday that she hoped they were very happy with the harm they did to transgender kids. Her son, now an adult, received treatment. “Our children are clearly not worthy of treatment.”