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'Butchered by an Institution': Woman Sues Hospital for Trans Surgery She Received as Kid

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An 18-year-old woman is suing a California-based healthcare company for gender-transitioning medical treatments she received there as a minor, including a double mastectomy and hormone replacement therapy.

Chloe Cole has announced her intent to sue the Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals for performing "supervised, and/or advised transgender hormone therapy and surgical intervention" when she was between the ages of 13-17 years old.

According to the letter released on Cole's behalf by the Center for American Liberty, she began questioning her gender at the age of 12. Less than six months later, she was advised by an endocrinologist to start hormone therapy. 

Three years later, Cole's "treatment" included a double mastectomy to remove both of her breasts to "resolve" her gender dysphoria in an attempt to make her a male.

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"Chloe and her parents were never informed of the high rate of desistance for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria," the letter states. "Also, they were never informed of the high probability that Chloe's gender dysphoria would resolve as an adult without hormone or surgical treatment."

Instead, she and her parents were led to believe that her gender identity issues would never go away and even suggested she would commit suicide if she did not follow through with the surgery.

"It's a medical malpractice case and I want to hold the adults who put me in harm's way accountable," Cole told Fox News. "What happened to me is horrible, (but) it didn't only happen to me. That's the worst part. It's happening to children all over the U.S., all over the West, and it's spreading all over the world. I want to be able to create a precedent for people who have been in my situation to find justice." 

Cole, who has since detransitioned, is seeking punitive damages "based on the evidence of malice, oppression, and fraud." She maintains that staff at the facilities failed to inform her of the effects of drugs and surgery.

Currently, Cole is happy about being a female but is living with the lasting impact of attempting to transition her physical gender.

"She had speech therapy to try to make her voice more feminine, but it did not work," the letter explains. "She expressed concerns about whether her body would ever return back to normal, whether she would be infertile, whether she had developed endometriosis, and whether she would have bone problems, etc. She is devastated that she will never be able to breastfeed a baby."

"My teenage life has been the culmination of excruciating pain, regret, and most importantly injustice," Cole said in the press release. "I have been emotionally and physically damaged and stunted by so-called medical professionals in my most important developmental period. I was butchered by an institution that we trust more than anything else in our lives."

The letter of intent to sue alleges that all of Cole's treatment amounted to "medical experimentation" because Kaiser Permanente lacked long-term studies to support their use of certain treatments in gender medicine.

According to the letter, Kaiser Permanente facilities and institutions are still giving treatment while failing to "enact policies and procedures preventing the risky, inadequately studied, and essentially experimental treatment that occurred in Chloe's case."

"This lawsuit is about finding justice for Chloe, who was victimized by medical professionals she should have been able to trust," Harmeet Dhillon, one of the attorneys representing her, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "Chloe's doctors coerced her into a life-altering and highly invasive medical treatment by concealing from her less invasive treatment options and by lying to her about her condition."

She added, "This predatory and barbaric behavior from medical professionals needs to stop. This lawsuit seeks justice for Chloe and hope for other vulnerable children across the country."

"It is impossible for me to recoup what I have lost, but I will insure no child will be harmed at the hands of these liars and mutilators," Cole said. "I am suing these monsters."

CBN News has reached out to Kaiser Permanente Medical Group for a statement. At the time of publication, they had not responded. 

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About The Author

Talia
Wise

Talia Wise has served as a multi-media producer for CBNNews.com, CBN Newswatch, The Prayer Link, and CBN News social media outlets. Prior to joining CBN News she worked for Fox Sports Florida producing and reporting. Talia earned a master’s degree in journalism from Regent University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.