A UCLA student is suing several California healthcare providers and hospitals for medical negligence, claiming she was misdiagnosed with gender dysphoria and rushed into irreversible treatments, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery.
Kaya Clementine Breen, 20, says that after experiencing sexual abuse as a child, she began struggling with the idea of growing into a woman by the age of 11. She believed life would be easier as a boy, and when she shared this with her school counselor, the counselor diagnosed her as transgender and informed her parents. According to her lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Breen was also battling anxiety, depression, and undiagnosed PTSD. Her parents took her to the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and started receiving transition-related care at the age of 12.
“This case involves healthcare providers who, despite Breen’s mental health struggles and history of sexual abuse, prescribed puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even a double mastectomy at 14,” the lawsuit states.
Breen started puberty-suppressing medication at 12, took cross-sex hormones from 13 to 19, and underwent a double mastectomy at 14. The lawsuit claims her mental health worsened after these treatments.
In an interview with NBC News, Breen said, “Looking back, I wish someone had suggested real therapy before gender-specific therapy. The only therapy I received for a long time was focused on gender dysphoria, not on my broader mental health issues.”
After starting dialectical behavior therapy earlier this year, Breen began questioning her gender identity. “I started asking myself if I was doing this for the right reasons,” she said.
The defendants in Breen’s lawsuit include Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, an adolescent medicine physician specializing in gender-affirming care; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Dr. Scott Mosser, a plastic surgeon specializing in gender-affirming surgery; the Gender Confirmation Center in San Francisco; UCSF Health Community Hospitals; and psychotherapist Susan P. Landon.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said their Center for Transyouth Health and Development has provided medically necessary care for over 30 years. They declined to comment on the specific case, citing privacy laws.
A spokesperson for the Gender Confirmation Center stated that they do not have “rubber stamp” patient interactions and, in compliance with HIPAA, could not comment on the case. Dr. Mosser’s statement emphasized the center’s commitment to patient well-being and thorough protocols for gender-affirming procedures.
UCSF Health Community Hospitals clarified that Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, where Breen was treated in 2019, was not part of UCSF at the time, and they had no further comment.
Breen does not believe the providers acted maliciously but alleges they ignored her pre-existing mental health issues. She hopes the lawsuit will bring “some semblance of justice or change” and help challenge the notion that people are never rushed into gender treatments.
While major medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association support gender-affirming care for transgender minors, the issue remains highly political, with several states passing laws restricting such care.
Gender-affirming care for minors varies, with young children possibly receiving only social transitions, like a new name or pronoun, while puberty blockers are an option at the onset of puberty. Hormone therapy and surgery are less common in minors, with surgeries being rare and illegal in some states.
Several detransitioners, including a 21-year-old woman from New York, have sued healthcare providers, claiming malpractice and a lack of informed consent regarding gender-affirming care. Despite this, research suggests that regret after gender transition is rare.
The politics around this issue have also influenced the delay in publishing a study by Dr. Olson-Kennedy, which found that puberty blockers did not improve the mental health of minors with gender dysphoria. Olson-Kennedy said she withheld the results due to concerns that they could fuel political attacks against gender-affirming care.
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