Girl, 17, who transitioned back from a boy reveals how puberty blockers and surgery have 'irreversibly and painfully' ruined her body as she backs Florida law blocking medical interventions
- Chloe Cole told how taking puberty blockers and having surgery damaged her
- She said it left her unlikely to be able to have children and unable to breastfeed
- She also told how she could be at risk of certain types of cancer due to treatment
- Chloe told of her trauma in heartbreaking testimony during a hearing in Florida
- Officials had discussed reimbursements made to those after hormone therapy
A 17-year-old girl who de-transitioned from a boy has warned against letting children change gender.
Chloe Cole opened up about how taking puberty blockers and having surgery 'irreversibly and painfully' damaged her body from the age of 13.
She said it has left her unlikely to be able to have children and unable to breastfeed if she can because she had a double mastectomy.
She also told how she could be at risk of certain types of cancer - such as cervical cancer - due to her invasive treatment.
Chloe revealed her trauma in heartbreaking testimony during a hearing on reimbursements being made to those seeking hormone therapy in Florida.
It comes after Governor Ron DeSantis last month moved to ban transition therapies for children and revoke Medicaid support for trans adults' treatments in the state.
The Republican state leader backed a letter sent by the state surgeon general , who DeSantis appointed to his post in February.
Joseph Lapado urged Florida's Board of Medicine establish a new 'standard of care' for treating minors considering a transition.
Cole has spoken openly about her transition saying that she first came out to her parents at 13
Chloe Cole's journey. A timeline:
Pictured: Chloe
2016: Chloe said that she became exposed to transgender activism at age 11 on Instagram and Tumblr which influenced her thinking on her own gender.
2018: At age 14, Chloe began taking puberty blockers and testosterone injections, that were administered by her mother. That same year she begins going by the name Leo.
June 2020: Chloe goes under the knife for the first time at 15 when she has a double mastectomy
Almost immediately, she regrets the surgery as she was confined to her bed for that summer as she healed from her surgery
May 2021: Following a biology class during which she came to the realization that she would never be able to feed her baby, Chloe said that she stopped taking testosterone injections
Chloe, from Central Valley in California, told a hearing of Medicaid officials in Tallahassee on Friday: 'No child should have to experience what I have.'
The teen said: 'No child should have to experience what I have. My consent was not informed.'
She said therapists told her prior to transitioning she did not understand the ramifications.
At one point, she said: 'I was unknowingly physically cutting off my true self from my body, irreversibly and painfully.'
Chloe added: 'That realization, actually, was one of the biggest things that led to me realizing that this was not the path that I should have taken.'
Later, she was asked what her advice to the public would be. She replied: 'Do not transition your kids.'
The youngster was 'medically transitioned' between the ages of 13 and 16, having her mastectomys at 15 in June 2020.
She was also taking testosterone and puberty-blockers and started going by the first name Leo.
Chloe has previously spoken openly about her transition, saying she first came out to her parents at 13.
Earlier this year, she told the New York Post it was her exposure to LGBTQ+ activism on Instagram at age 11 that she pushed her toward transitioning.
She said: 'I started being exposed to a lot of LGBT content and activism.
'I saw how trans people online got an overwhelming amount of support, and the amount of praise they were getting really spoke to me because, at the time, I didn't really have a lot of friends of my own.'
Chloe said she was still waiting to find out if her testosterone injections, that were administered by her mother, have left her infertile.
When speaking about her mastectomys, she said it was a 'was a very graphic process and it was definitely something I wasn't prepared for.'
She added: 'I'm still in the dark about the overall picture of my health right now.'
Prior to undergoing in mastectomy, Cole said she met with a therapist and a gender specialist before meeting a surgeon
Chloe told the website being in class learning about the bond between mother and child that comes with breastfeeding helped to change her mind
Prior to undergoing in mastectomy, Cole told Common Sense News she met with a therapist and a gender specialist before meeting a surgeon.
Chloe told the website being in class learning about the bond between mother and child that comes with breastfeeding helped to change her mind.
In May 2021, she said she stopped taking her testosterone injections. Cole her senior year was rough as she de-transitioned, saying 'the gay side of my school hated me.'
But there was a silver lining in the shape of a new boyfriend, who was from two towns over. Chloe said: 'I genuinely think he was a gift to me from God.'
She added: 'I was looking for a niche to fit in and a sense of fulfillment' bot now she says she doesn't 'really believe in gender identity at all.'
The Tallahassee hearing attracted a huge crowd, with some shouting 'lock them up' during Cole's speech.
Her speech was in support of Rule 59F-1.050 that would restrict Medicaid funding for transgender treatments, with is being supported by DeSantis.
The Republican state leader backed a letter sent by state surgeon general Lapado, which called for a new 'standard of care' for treating minors considering a transition.
That includes suspending access to 'puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries'.
Mr Lapado wrote: 'While some professional organizations [...] recommend these treatments for 'gender affirming' care, the scientific evidence supporting these complex medical interventions is extraordinarily weak.
'The current standards set by numerous professional organizations appear to follow a preferred political ideology instead of the highest level of generally accepted medical science.
'Florida must do more to protect children from politics-based medicine. Otherwise, children and adolescents in our state will continue to face a substantial risk of long-term harm.'
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A 46-page report by Florida Medicaid further argued scientific evidence in favor of such treatments is of either 'low quality or very low quality'.
Contradicting federal guidance - and, campaigners claim, the Affordable Care Act's clauses on discrimination - the report states: 'This report does not recommend sex reassignment treatment as a health service that is consistent with generally accepted professional standards.'
Such treatments for adults and minors alike are backed by the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association.
Gender reassignment surgery in the United States is largely restricted to over-18s.
The Affordable Care Act requires states offer 'gender transition services', a recent update detailed.
Tampa-based psychologist Gary Howell, who treats transgender youth and adults, claimed DeSantis was stripping the rights of parents with transgender children.
Governor DeSantis - pictured last month with lawmakers, holding the state's record $100billion state budget - backed a letter sent by the state surgeon general he appointed in February
Lapado branded trans therapies for children 'politics-based medicine' (image from May)
The letter from the surgeon general to Florida health leaders described transition therapies as 'politics-based medicine'
He said: 'It's unconstitutional for the government to step in and deprive youth — and especially trans youth — of getting the necessary medical care they need.'
The Governor has taken up a series of culture war issues as he is rumored to seek his party's nomination for the presidency in 2024.
In March, DeSantis trolled trans swimmer Lia Thomas by naming cisgender competitor Emma Weyant 'the real winner' of their race in which Thomas took gold.
DeSantis has also won national notoriety - and adoration - for the state's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill.
The controversial Parental Rights in Education bill bans teachers from discussing gender and sexuality in the classroom through sixth grade.
It prompted Disney to speak out on behalf of its LGBT+ employees in Florida - and resulted in DeSantis seeking to revoke the company's protected status in the state.
Meanwhile the surgeon general courted controversy during the Covid pandemic for his opposition to quarantines, face masks, and even vaccinations.
Mr Lapado was a signatory of the Great Barrington Declaration, which in late 2020 called for a laissez-faire approach toward infections in favor of 'herd immunity'.
He also spoke out in March against vaccinating 'healthy children' against Covid, advice ex-White House press secretary Jen Psaki described as 'deeply disturbing'.
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