A 17-year-old girl who regrets having both of her breasts removed as a result of so-called “gender-affirming care” testified before a California Assembly committee hearing June 28, urging state lawmakers to reject proposed legislation that would make California a transgender sanctuary state.
“I was medically transitioned from ages 13 and 16,” Chloe Cole from the Central Valley told the public safety committee, saying she suffered irreversible consequences from surgeries and hormone treatment.
The committee passed the controversial Senate Bill (SB) 107, which proponents say would “provide refuge” for trans youth, their parents, and those who advocate for and provide “gender-affirming health care ” for minors.
The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies from arresting or extraditing parents charged in other states or nations for child abuse or other crimes related to allowing minor children to receive these medical treatments.
Cole said when she was younger, her parents took her to a therapist who “affirmed my male identity” and “brushed off” concerns about the efficacy of hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries.
“My parents were given the threat of suicide as a reason to move me forward in my transition,” she said.
Cole said at age 15, she told her therapist she wanted to remove her breasts. She attended a top surgery class with a dozen other girls her age or younger.
“None of us were going to be men, we were fleeing from the uncomfortable feeling of becoming women,” Cole said.
She went through with the surgery and her endocrinologist put her on puberty blockers and injectable testosterone after two or three appointments, she said.
“Despite having a therapist and attending the top surgery class, I really didn’t understand all the ramifications of any of the medical decisions I was making. I was incapable of understanding, and it was downplayed consistently,” she said. “My parents, on the other hand, were pressured to continue my so-called ‘gender journey’ with the suicide threat.
By Brad Jones
