- Disclaimer
- GAC = "gender-affirming care"
- My motive for writing this page is my concern that GAC is now being advocated
for minors, including
legislation
that would allow a child to receive treatment without parental consent or knowledge.
This movement includes children who have not yet reached puberty. The thinking is, transitioning is easier if it is started before then. The obvious problem is that children, including teens, are not capable of understanding the ramifications of unalterable medical treatments and procedures.
As in Chloe's case, a girl might be convinced she's really a boy, or would be better off as a boy, only to discover in a few years she embraces her body the way it was created and looks forward to having children, breastfeeding, etc.
- I'm not convinced "transitioning" at any age is a good idea. In my unprofessional
opinion, treating Gender Dissociative Identity Disorders with medical treatments
such as blockers, testosterone, surgeries, etc., is usually the wrong approach.
Therapy and counseling would be more appropriate.
The Long and Winding Road
- Chloe Cole is an 18-year-old female who began "transitioning" to male at
the age of 12 and continued for about 3.5 years. According to her testimony
before the Florida Board of Medicine (linked below), her transition included
- cutting her hair, wearing boys' clothes and using the name "Leo"
- at 13 she started taking puberty blockers and testosterone
- at 15 she had a double mastectomy. Say what?!?!?
- My first question was: why did her parents go along with this?
- According to Chloe, her parents were counseled that denying GAC would be detrimental to her mental health, asking: "Would you rather have a live son or a dead daughter?" Given those options and relying on those they considered psychological experts, they gave permission.
- IMO, this type of counseling is malpractice as there are no studies to back up such assertions.
- No way would I have signed paperwork to allow my teenage daughter to be given any gender-affirming treatments, "experts" be damned.
- Here's what I'm having trouble with: health care professionals going into
an OR and removing the perfectly healthy breasts of a 15-year-old girl, regardless
how she "presents" herself. Someone in the medical field would have to explain
the thought process. I would refuse to participate, even if it cost me my job.
- At 16, Chloe regretted her decisions and is now speaking out against such
medical treatments and procedures for minors. The list of complications she is enduring,
both physical and mental, is formidable. She discusses them in the videos linked below.
- Another aspect that troubles me is that Chloe had all the help and support
in the world from the medical, psychological and trans communities when she was
transitioning, but little to no help after realizing the mistakes she made. She
became the proverbial baby with a dirty diaper -- someone else's mess to clean up.
The previous comment might sound trite considering we are talking about unalterable
treatments for minors, but I'm frustrated that they are being led down this path
and then abandoned.
- As minors, we often change our minds about what we want to be when we grow up,
but that is usually limited to our life's calling, relationships, etc. These
explorations and musings are natural and healthy as we look to our futures.
It becomes unhealthy when our desires turn to the impossible, like changing
our genders.
- I'm no psychologist, but I am fascinated that we can deceive ourselves on
such a grand scale. Why is the power of suggestion so strong for some but not
for others? I get wanting a face lift or a tummy tuck as we age, but to start
having body parts removed? That's beyond my comprehension.
Chloe in her own words
- testimony before the Florida Board of Medicine (2:31)
where she credits early exposure to social media and the internet as influencing
and encouraging factors in transitioning. We use to call that running with
the wrong crowd. Apparently, allowing children unmonitored access to the internet
is a bit like dropping them off at the mall. You don't know who they will encounter,
nor what their motives and influences might be. I'm as guilty as anyone of this
oversight. She closes with a scathing rebuke of the medical communitiy for having
her breasts removed.
- comments published by FOX Digital (5:47).
If you listen to nothing else, check from 2:38 - 3:22. Only the misguided under
the banner of trans rights would encourage a 15-year-old girl having her perfectly
healthy breasts removed. I call it mutilation. Now, so does Chloe.
- an interview with Dr. Jordan Peterson (2:07:36).
I doubt anyone else will watch the whole two hours but the first 78 seconds
might we worth a listen. About the regret of having and double mastectomy at the
tender age of 15, Chloe tearfully asks: "How was I supposed to know?"
And there's the rub. At 15, she was counseled that the mastectomy was irreversible and she would not be able to breastfeed any future children. Her response was that she didn't want to have children. Really. Where were the adults in the room who would ask themselves the simple question: "How does a 15-year-old girl know what she will want when she is 20, 25 or 30?"
Pre-surgery was all excitement being involved in the trans movement and anticipation of making her life better by transitioning. Post-surgery was when reality set in.
-
The Daily Signal interview (8:57) where she discusses the process from transition to detransition.
Where to Go From Here?
- As of this writing, Chloe is suing Kaiser Permanente and other health care
professionals. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court. Will
the judge/jury see Chloe as victim or willing participant who sought out these
treatments and knowingly signed the consent forms? What's that old saying about
being careful what you wish for? Regardless how her lawsuit goes, may Chloe have
success in her crusade to stop GAC for minors.
