Young adults who formerly identified as transgender are testifying in favor of banning the chemical and surgical treatments for minors that medically harmed them.
Tennessee lawmakers are closer than ever to banning the practice of child sex change procedures in the state. The bill, SB 0001, which would bar the use of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries on minors statewide, is quickly moving forward through various committees and is on its way to becoming law, with the help of testimony from detransitioners.
“As a detransitioned adult I recognize the importance that civil action laws like this would provide in holding the people accountable who did this to me as a child and preventing other children from being harmed,” said Prisha Mosley.
Mosley, now 24, recalled being 15 when she was introduced to gender ideology from the transgender community and 17 when she was prescribed a “high dose” of testosterone. The following year, Mosley received a double mastectomy, which she described as having her “healthy breasts cut off.”
Mosley said that her myriad psychiatric conditions and trauma from a sexual assault were brushed aside as soon as she “uttered the word gender.”
“My therapist even attested that all of my problems were caused by being ‘born in the wrong body,’” said Mosley. “This wasn’t true, but I was medicalized anyway.”
Mosley described the “zapping pain” she feels on her chest, where two large scars remain, and the side effects from long-term testosterone treatment including having disproportionately large shoulders which cause her pain, hair loss on her head, unwanted hair growth on her body, a sore throat and voice she can no longer raise, and muscle and joint aches.
“I decided that I did not want to be a woman before I had ever gotten to be one,” said Mosley. “I was a little girl, now I will never know what it is fully like. I fully support a bill that protects youth from the undeniable harm caused by so-called ‘gender affirming care.’”
The state Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, held on Tuesday, only permitted one speaker in favor of the bill and three against it, each with 3 minutes to speak. Abel Garcia, a detransitioned man who had flown from Texas to testify, was not given the opportunity to speak, but released a clip of his prepared statement on social media.
“Looking at today’s climate, I am very worried and concerned because if I, as an adult, was led astray by the medical system and those who were supposed to help me, what hope do children have today?” said Garcia, who chemically and surgically transitioned as a young adult and now experiences urinary tract problems and genital atrophy as a result of hormone therapy.
Those testifying against the bill included a wealth of misinformation in their prepared statements, including the debunked narrative that failing to affirm a child’s transgender identity with medical treatments increases the risk of suicide.
Studies that claim “trans” youth are at elevated risk of suicide are commonly compared with average mentally healthy teenagers, which is deeply misleading. When researchers compared “trans” youth with teens suffering from similar mental health problems, there was little difference in suicide rates between the groups.
One of the speakers, Kathy Sinback, the executive director of the Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), threatened to sue the state if the law succeeded in getting passed.
Senator Jack Johnson, who co-authored the bill, was able to clear up some of the misinformation before the vote was taken. The state Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill with a 7-2 vote on Tuesday, which proceeded to the state House Health Committee on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the Senate committee heard from an 18-year-old detransitioner from California, who supported the ban on pediatric medical transition.
“From the very beginning, the doctors were negligent,” said Chloe Cole, who is permanently scarred from having a double mastectomy surgery to remove her breasts at 15.
“They treated me as if I were an adult who was capable of making informed lifelong decisions that would affect every area of my life — from socialization and relationships to sexual function and my ability to have children.”