Parshall Partners

Medical Malpractice

         The ideology of “transgenderism” is infecting our culture at a dangerous rate.  But a recent legal decision may serve as the much-needed antidote to this cultural contagion.

         In 2019, Fox Varian had a mastectomy at the age of 16.  She wasn’t physically ill and didn’t have a life-threatening disease.  But her broken mind told her she was a boy, and needed to make her body reflect how she felt.

         At first, her mom opposed the surgery but like so many parents with children who wrestle with this issue, she heard the old deception, “What would you rather have, a live son or a dead daughter?”  This mantra is not only unscientific, it’s a lie.

         The Oxford Academic Journal of Sexual Medicine released a new study on the effects of "gender-affirming surgery" on people with gender dysphoria. After analyzing over 100,000 patients, they concluded that those who received surgery had an increased risk of mental health issues and substance use disorders. In other words, the tendency toward self-harm went up, not down after the procedure.

         Varian, like so many who struggle in this area, had a rough childhood.  Her parents separated when she was 7 which started a three-year battle for custody, ending with an estrangement from her father.  She had multiple mental health issues including depression, anxiety and autism. 

         When she was 15, she told her psychologist she was questioning her gender.  During that time, she changed her name, bound her breasts and cut her hair.  And, at 16, both her psychologist and a surgeon approved her irreversible top surgery. 

         But by 2023, Fox Varian had grown up and several of her real issues were being treated successfully.  Varian decided to sue her psychologist and her surgeon for pushing a double mastectomy on her when she was a minor.

         In a ground-breaking decision, a jury awarded Varian $2 million in a landmark verdict against the New York medical providers.  The jury ruled that the psychologist and the surgeon were held responsible for ignoring standards of care and procedural guardrails for pressuring the minor to get the surgery as a way of dealing with her dysphoria.  This is the first “detransitioner” malpractice lawsuit to go before a jury and end with a victory for the plaintiff.  The $2 million verdict was for past and future pain and suffering as well as monies for future medical expenses. 

         Think about it.  Shouldn’t a doctor who removes the eyes of someone who “feels” they should be blind be sued? Or shouldn’t an orthopedic surgeon be sued if he cuts the legs off of a person who “feels” they should be in a wheelchair? The same common sense and good health care standard should apply to someone who “feels” they are in the wrong body.

         The best part about this verdict is that is should serve as a chilling effect on health care professionals who are too quick to bow to an ideology rather than uphold the oath of “do no harm”.

         Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.