Radical, medical procedures, performed on pubescent children, is not, nor should it be, a political issue. It’s not about the radical right trying to limit the freedoms of children who need help. This is about children who need protection from radical doctors and parents who are convinced by those doctors, that they are doing what’s best for their children. These are two such cases of girls who were treated for their gender dysphoria, underwent life altering procedures are suing their doctors and or health care providers, and are now telling their stories.

In the case of Chloe Cole, she had a double mastectomy at the age of fifteen. This astonished me because a) we have been told that radical surgeries on teens aren’t being performed and b) I didn’t realize that it was even legal. How could a doctor perform a double mastectomy on someone so young and physically healthy. One can only assume that her parents were told this was the best option for her. The only problem is, a fifteen-year-old is incapable of making such a drastic and life altering decision. Those who support this type of care, would probably defend it, but they would be wrong, and their mental health should be questioned. Perhaps they don’t remember being fifteen.

Chole told her parents of her questioning of her gender at twelve. She was then given hormone blockers and testosterone to begin her transition at thirteen. She underwent a double mastectomy at fifteen and de-transitioned at sixteen. Of course, it was already too late to undo the permanent damage that was done. On Tucker Carlson she said, “As an adult, I will never be able to breast-feed whatever children I will have. I don’t even know if, because I was put on puberty blockers and testosterone at only 13 years old, if I’ll be able to conceive a child naturally.” She continued, “I made an adult decision as a child.” That’s the most important point of all. It’s the job of responsible adults and doctors, to protect children from making decisions, in which they are incapable of understanding the consequences.

In the case of Layla Jane, she’s suing Permanente Medical Group and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the medical providers who performed a double mastectomy on her when she was thirteen. She started questioning her gender two years earlier, at the age of eleven. Her attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, said that she had mental health issues including suicidal ideations, that should have been treated before jumping right to such a radical procedure. He also said, “it is impossible for a child to give informed consent, and it is impossible for parents who are not fully informed and with a child that was not properly treated [cannot] also give that consent.” Instead, with only information provided by Layla, she was treated with a double mastectomy.

According to Layla, her parents were told that if she wasn’t permitted to transition, there was a strong likelihood of suicide. Specifically, she said they were told that they were better off with a “live son”, then a “dead daughter.” One statistic that wasn’t provided, is the fact that 80-90% of teens with gender dysphoria, don’t actually continue with their new gender, instead, de-transitioning. Unfortunately for Layla, her breasts cannot be reconstructed, so she will have to live with this for the remainder of her life. She is suing because she has a number of continuing health issues and is unsure if she will ever be able to become pregnant and birth children of her own. She’s also intent on protecting future generations of young people who may be led astray as she was.

Both cases are absolutely true, cannot be disputed, and are clear examples of why transgender care using hormones and or breast removal must never be permitted. Gender dysphoria cannot be proven scientifically and therefore isn’t science. Merely taking the word of a teenager, who might suffer from any number of other mental health issues, is unacceptable. Being a teenager, is synonymous with melodrama and confusion. Mental health counseling should be the only treatment provided, until the age of consent. Removing the healthy breasts of a thirteen or fifteen-year-old girl is absolutely malpractice of the highest order. Doctors are charged with saving lives, not destroying them. It leads one to believe that some doctors, hospitals or clinics are more concerned with profit, over health. It must never, be allowed under any circumstances. Any doctor who would perform mastectomies on otherwise healthy, underage teens, should lose their licenses, face huge fines and possible jail time.