By Laurel Duggan
Legislators are looking to combat the child sex change industry by expanding patients’ rights to sue medical professionals who performed sex change procedures on them as minors.
Supporters of these measures believe that lawsuits from detransitioners — people who once identified as transgender but now regret medically transitioning — could bring the child sex change industry to a halt by making it too financially risky to administer cross-sex medications and surgeries to minors. Most states impose a statute of limitations for medical malpractice of around two years, making it impossible for some detransitioners to sue their medical providers by the time they come to regret medically transitioning, but lawmakers have proposed extending the statute of limitations for childhood sex changes and creating a private right of action for individuals in such cases.
“A child who undergoes a procedure at 15 may wake up at age 30 and realize they made a terrible mistake. Or, more likely, it’s going to happen by four or five years out from their surgery or their initiation of hormones.”
One lawsuit seeking damages for medical malpractice related to childhood sex change procedures is already underway: Chloe Cole, a young woman who underwent puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and a double mastectomy between the ages of 13 and 17, is suing Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the Permanente Medical Group and several doctors who were involved in her transition. Her attorneys allege that medical professionals unquestioningly affirmed her transgender identity and failed to address her many mental health issues including anxiety, depression, speech difficulties, autism spectrum symptoms and body image issues.
Robert Weisenburger, an attorney at LiMandri and Jonna LLP who is representing Cole, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the firm had been contacted by 10 or more patients who are interested in suing over medical transitions they underwent as minors, but he said statutes of limitations were preventing other detransitioners from pressing charges. He believes lawsuits can drastically reduce the size and scope of the child sex change industry, but said it will take more than one case to bring about change.
“These are children that are being experimented on, they may be under the influence of hormones for a long period of time, and that itself has an impact on their psychology. The desistance and detransition rates are very high for children who experience gender confusion, but it often takes four or five or more years for them to desist or realize that they need to detransition,” Weisenburger told the DCNF. “It takes even longer for them to process what happened and realize that they should take legal action. So expanding statute limitations is a critical and necessary step to ensure that the rights of these children are protected.”
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, board chair of Do No Harm and former Associate Dean for Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, told the DCNF that creating a private right of action and expanding statutes of limitation would sharply curtail the child sex change industry. Most pediatric gender clinics are part of large hospital institutions which are highly sensitive to litigation, he said.
“These large organizations are extraordinarily sensitive to what the lawyers tell them. That’s because most of them are self insured, so they have to put reserves down each year to cover any malpractice lawsuits that they may encounter,” he said. “And if they had to now worry about a trial that might be 20 years out, for example, where they could be sued over not giving proper informed consent or not explaining the the potential complications of these gender related surgeries or medications, this would be a real chilling effect on any of these large institutions that house gender clinics.”
“A child who undergoes a procedure at 15 may wake up at age 30 and realize they made a terrible mistake. Or, more likely, it’s going to happen by four or five years out from their surgery or their initiation of hormones,” Goldfarb told the DCNF. “It takes a long time for them to appreciate that they may have made a mistake.”
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill Feb. 15 which would create a private right of action for lawsuits against the individuals and entities responsible for child sex changes that harm the mental or physical health of patients; the legislation would hold medical professionals and clinics liable for damages until 30 years after a patient turns 18.
“Children who are harmed by these dangerous procedures, which are often irreversible and sterilizing, will now be able to fight back against those who perpetrated their abuse. And federal taxpayers will no longer be forced to foot the bill for abusive treatment,” Hawley said in a press release.
Arkansas is considering legislation that would allow patients who are physically or mentally harmed by sex change procedures they undergo as minors, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, to sue health care providers for damages and injunctive relief for 30 years after turning 18. The bill makes several exceptions, including for medical professionals who documented two years of continuous transgender identification in a minor prior to their procedures and for cases in which the child’s parent offered informed consent.
The bill was introduced Feb. 6 and is in committee.
Utah is considering a bill that would allow patients to sue providers over sex change procedures they recieved as minors until the patient turns 25.
“Once sizable damages have been awarded in a malpractice suit, we believe it will force medical service providers, health insurers, and employers offering coverage for so-called ‘affirmative care’ to revise their positions,” Joseph Burgo, vice director of Genspect, an organization that’s critical of youth gender transitions, told the DCNF. “Greatly increased exposure will encourage a re-assessment of the risks involved. Genspect believes that outright bans on affirmative care for minors may act as a deterrent, but extending malpractice liability windows and allowing more lawsuits for the recovery of damages will do far more to curtail these dangerous procedures.”
The child sex change industry is massive and growing: There are around 100 gender clinics in the U.S., according to Reuters, and each of those clinics is likely seeing 100 to 300 children annually, Goldfarb told the DCNF. About 300,000 children in the U.S. identify as transgender, according to the University of California Los Angeles Williams Institute, though not everyone who adopts a transgender identity seeks a medical transition.
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Blaming “the parents” is too easy these days. The saying “it takes a village” holds as true today as it did generations ago. Who are the parents of today? They are the children of the parents of yesterday. Who raised them? The grandparents who grew up in 1960’s or early 1970’s? The real problem is American society is steered and manipulated with gadgets, fads, and propaganda. The Truth is there is nothing new under the sun. Only corrupted, evil principalities who have done the same thing over and over for 2000+ years. Today, the great awakening is happening. The evil entities are doing everthing possible to stop it from happening. Going so far as to mutilate children (sacrifices done for centuries,) depopulate the human species, and prepare the welcoming mat for the anti-Christ. The village has to wake up, unite, and stand against the evil perpetrating our society. Instead of waving the fingers at our neighbors, look to no other than Satan and his dually elected? spawn.
When living in CT, my children came home from school proudly announcing my youngest got a trophy that day. For being there. At which I told my children in no uncertain terms “We COMPETE in this house.” My now 42 year old son, with 2 masters and a hell of a job with very high security clearance, recently told me that was a defining moment in his life.
When my daughter came home telling me that a special seminar to teach writing skills was available, I asked how does one attend? The school decided to let students put their name in a hat. Winner goes.
I called the school and told them that if they have even one student, other than my already acknowledged as a writer daughter, who displays the same level of talent, then I would not object. SHOW ME. PROVE IT.
My daughter went to the seminar.
She, too, is a college grad and currently has her own holistic business. And yes, she’s been published.
My oldest son worked throughout high school with college as a goal. At one point in his career, he was the youngest CEO in the country in the medical field.
One day my kids came home upset, announcing the town was getting rid of the classes designed for the really smart talented students. Apparently it wasn’t fair to acknowledge and reward these things. Keep in mind ALL THREE of my kids attended those classes. So I taught my children to organize and protest. I brought in the media. And we won!!!!
They paid for their own schooling. They own their own homes. They are responsible tax paying Americans.
I stayed home 24/7 with them. And although I eventually did work an outside job to help pay the bills, it was always part time. Worked around my children’s schedule. They came first because that was MY JOB.
I knew each one. I knew their likes and dislikes, opinions and talents. And I loved each one.
THAT’S how it’s done.
American parents have dropped the ball, just as Mr. McLamb states.
Thank you, Richard, for being a true parent, warts and all. Relish in your pride !
I have said before this is what happens when parents drop the ball and stop paying attention to what their kids are doing in and out of school. If you like that SUV so much you should just kill the kids and marry it. Too many of you still don’t get the problem. You. You do not raise your kids, you let social media do it, you let day care workers do it, you let schools do it, but no, not you, you have to pay for the house you put up to get that truck you love so much so you can go to deer camp with the boys. Give me a break people, you are getting the children you deserve and this subject is just a manifestation of that absolute lack of parenting and especially paying attention. 30 years of something else is more important will show your kids how little you really think of them and with schools giving out trophies for just showing up it says as always if all are specials, none are. They want to “feel ” special so they do stuff so they ARE special. Whether that be pills, sex, sexuality, being a bully , the choices to destruction are as endless as your apathy.
Yes there will be lawsuits but not for the proper reasons and most will probably get thrown out… They have the right, right. A bad decision is theirs to make. NOT!