A biological female whose breasts were removed at age 13 after she claimed to identify as male has filed a lawsuit against the hospital and surgeon responsible for the procedure.
According to Charles LiMandri, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff Layla Jane, the defendants engaged in “ideological and profit-driven medical abuse” by prescribing her puberty blockers and hormones and subsequently performing a double mastectomy, The Epoch Times reported.
The outlet added:
Jane, now 18, was influenced by people online when she was just 11 and told her parents that she was a boy, prompting them to ask for guidance from doctors.
While three doctors said Jane was too young for cross-sex hormones, she was eventually referred to several other doctors who prescribed her puberty blockers and hormones. Within six months, they removed her breasts.
The lawsuit alleges that the decision to administer hormones and puberty blockers to Jane was based on a single, 75-minute session with psychologist Susanne Watson. Additionally, plastic surgeon Dr. Winnie Tong concluded, after a 30-minute session, that Jane was eligible for a double mastectomy to remove her breasts, the outlet reported.
“Defendants did not question, elicit, or attempt to understand the psychological events that led Kayla to the mistaken belief that she was transgender, nor did they evaluate, appreciate, or treat her multi-faceted presentation of co-morbid symptoms,” the suit says.
“Instead, Defendants assumed that Kayla, a twelve-year-old emotionally troubled girl, knew best what she needed to improve her mental health and figuratively handed her the prescription pad. There is no other area of medicine where doctors will surgically remove a perfectly healthy body part and intentionally induce a diseased state of the pituitary gland misfunction based simply on the young adolescent patient’s wishes,” the suit added.
In contrast, psychologist Doreen Samelson, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, informed Jane and her parents that she could not prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones due to various factors, including Jane’s age.
Jane, whose given name is Kayla Lovdahl, has detransitioned and is once again identifying as her biological sex. She is currently undergoing psychotherapy to address mental health concerns such as social anxiety disorder.
The suit argues that instead of resorting to the extreme measures taken by the defendants, alternative treatments such as psychotherapy should have been offered. It further highlights that numerous studies indicate that many young individuals experiencing gender dysphoria eventually find comfort with their assigned birth sex.
