Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy (third from the left, with president of ABC Entertainment Karey Burke, Caitlin Jenner, and producer Jane Cha Cutler at at fundraiser event for the Center for Transyouth Health and Development-Children’s Hospital on Feb. 1, 2020) is being sued by a woman who says she was rushed into a gender transition. / Credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2024 / 15:35 pm (CNA).
A 20-year-old California woman is alleging that doctors, a children’s hospital, and a pediatric gender clinic negligently pushed her into a hormonal and surgical gender transition beginning when she was only 12 years old in a lawsuit filed late last week.
The lawsuit, filed by UCLA student Kaya Clementine Breen, claims that “her body has been profoundly damaged in ways that can never be repaired” following the hormone therapy and surgeries she received to make her body appear similar to a boy.
Breen was prescribed puberty blockers at age 12 after one visit to a gender clinic, received testosterone at age 13, and had a double mastectomy at age 14 to remove both breasts, according to the court filing. She suffered mental health problems and irreversible physical changes after the procedures.
The lawsuit alleges the doctors failed to properly assess her mental health problems and provided her parents with false and misleading information to encourage the gender transition she now regrets. She is seeking monetary damages for ongoing physical and mental repercussions.
“This so-called ‘treatment’ of Clementine by her providers represents a despicable, failed medical experiment and a knowing, deliberate, and gross breach of the standard of care that was substantially certain to cause serious harm,” the lawsuit asserts.
Immediately prescribed puberty blockers at age 12
According to the lawsuit, Breen first expressed to a school counselor that she felt “life would be so much easier if she were a boy” when she was 11 years old in the fall of 2016. When the counselor informed her parents, they took her to the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles (CHLA).
Breen was put under the care of Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, the medical director of the center whom she met on Dec. 27, 2016, shortly after Breen turned 12, according to the lawsuit. The suit states that Olson-Kennedy “immediately diagnosed [Breen] with gender dysphoria and told her that she was ‘trans’ … within minutes during her very first visit.”
According to the lawsuit, Olson-Kennedy “immediately” recommended puberty blockers to be surgically implanted into her arm — a procedure Breen received on March 6, 2017.
The lawsuit asserts Olson-Kennedy “performed no mental health assessment” and “did not ask about things like past trauma, abuse, or mental health struggles or diagnoses” before her recommendation. For this reason, Breen’s lawyers allege that Olson-Kennedy did not learn of the “prolonged sexual abuse she suffered around the ages of 6 and 7” or the numerous mental health problems she struggled with, including anxiety, depression, and undiagnosed PTSD.
Breen, the lawsuit states, was “struggling with the thought of developing into a woman, not surprising given the sexual abuse she had suffered.”
A spokesperson for CHLA told CNA that the hospital does “not comment on pending litigation; and out of respect for patient privacy and in compliance with state and federal laws, we do not comment on specific patients and/or their treatment.”
“The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has provided high-quality, age-appropriate, medically necessary care for more than 30 years,” the spokesperson said. “Treatment is patient- and family-centered, following guidelines from professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and Endocrine Society.”
Olson-Kennedy has come under scrutiny after the New York Times reported that she concealed the results of a taxpayer-funded study about the mental health effects of providing children transgender drugs because her research could not find any mental health benefits.
Jordan Campbell, one of Breen’s lawyers, told CNA that Breen was “one of the patients in that study.”
Olson-Kennedy did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.
Both the CHLA and Olson-Kennedy are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Testosterone at 13, transgender surgery at 14
During Breen’s third visit to the transgender clinic on Sept. 9, 2017, the lawsuit alleges that Olson-Kennedy questioned her about whether boys in her school were going through puberty and recommended that she receive testosterone to “keep you on track.” It adds that Breen “expressed doubt” about testosterone, but Olson-Kennedy told her she “would be more likely to fully ‘pass’ as a ‘cis male.’”
The lawsuit asserts that Breen “hesitantly agreed” to receive testosterone, but her parents “were very much against the suggestion.” It alleges Olson-Kennedy “lied” to the parents and told them Breen was “suicidal” and “if they did not agree to cross-sex hormone therapy, [Breen] would commit suicide.”
“She bluntly asked them if they would rather have a living son or a dead daughter,” the lawsuit asserts. “In tears, [Breen’s] parents would ‘consent’ to allowing Dr. Olson-Kennedy and her team [to] inject their confused, suffering child with life-altering testosterone.”
The lawsuit alleges Olson-Kennedy failed to discuss the “irreversible effects” and did not discuss alternatives. Breen began receiving testosterone on Jan. 26, 2018, when she was 13.
During her sixth visit to the gender clinic on Sept. 5, 2018, the lawsuit states Olson-Kennedy recommended a double mastectomy to remove both of her breasts. It alleges she “misled them by emphasizing the supposed importance of getting such a radical procedure early.”
Breen received the surgery on May 14, 2019, when she was 14. According to the litigation, Breen “had a brief, 30-minute pre-op meeting” with the doctor, Scott Mosser, and was given a consent form that was “facially deficient, including but not limited to failing to disclose the experimental nature of the procedure, failing to list the known risks, and failing to list all alternative forms of treatment.”
CNA reached out to the Gender Confirmation Center, where Mosser is employed, to ask him for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. He is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Following the surgery, the lawsuit states Breen had “thoughts of suicide” and her “mental health had begun to spiral” with depression and intense anger. She also developed psychosis and had “auditory and visual hallucinations,” attempted “suicide by hanging,” and began “cutting her wrists.”
Campbell told CNA the doctors were “completely ignoring her rapidly decreasing mental health” and acted “negligently” by prescribing “life-altering treatment” to a “deeply troubled, traumatized child.”
The lawsuit states Breen “began to realize that she may not actually be ‘trans’ but rather had been suffering from PTSD and other issues related to her unresolved trauma.” She scaled back the testosterone and her mental health issues began to resolve. She eventually stopped taking testosterone.
“Once she stopped, her mental health issues improved even further,” the lawsuit adds. “Her psychosis and hallucinations went away. Her depression went away. Her attention problems went away. Her anxiety went away. She began to have a healthy view of her body. In short, she began to heal.”
Campbell said Breen is trying to “recapture her femininity” and is now taking estrogen to reverse some of the effects of testosterone and intends to get chest reconstruction surgery, but added that “of course, it’s not the same thing as having her healthy breasts.”
“All the damage from the hormones, the surgery, is pretty much irreversible,” Campbell said.
The lawsuit adds that Breen is likely infertile, “would not be able to breastfeed” even if she could get pregnant, and is “at risk for bone-related problems later in life.”
Breen is seeking monetary damages for medical expenses, pain, and suffering, and the cost of the lawsuit. Her lawyers are seeking a trial by jury.
In 24 states, lawmakers have banned transgender drugs and surgeries for children, and two states have banned just the surgeries. Both procedures remain legal in 24 states.
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What woke nonsense. Wake up, people.
Actually, for the reasonably skeptical, any marriage between a rugged man and a beautiful woman, especially popular stars in their professions is like a jab of vitamin B12 in the arm of a morally weakened culture.
Know that the end of the world is coming upon us when we start looking to Taylor Swift for cues about how to live 🙄🙄. Lord have mercy.
Well, Athanasius, no one I look up to is perfect, and I myself am far from perfect, but I still attempt to help raise my grandson to be a godly little boy who loves Jesus and wants to serve him, and I have the audacity to confess my sins and approach Jesus in Holy Communion and hope that He will not turn His Face away from me and my continued struggles with certain besetting sins.
We’re all flawed people, and sadly, flawed people, including plenty of Catholic flawed people, get divorced. Sigh.
Taylor and Kelce are as flawed as the rest of us, but…it’s sure nice to see an old-fashioned dating relationship (for 2 whole years, not just 2 weeks!), a traditional engagement (complete with a on-the-knee proposal and an engagement ring!), and plans for a wedding that no doubt will include Kelce’s and Taylor’s mothers in the planning stages! I think a lot of young girls will be inspired to find a boyfriend who will treat them the way Kelce treats Taylor in public.
I hope their marriage lasts longer than most celebrity marriages (sadly, some only last for a few weeks), but there are some celebs that stay married and are faithful to the same person for decades–one example is Robert Patrick (the original Terminator!), who has been married to Barbara for over 25 years and still going strong! I think their active status in their church has something to do with this, along with his commitment to AA and staying sober–something that Barbara told him he had to do before she would even consider marrying him!
I think, or at least I hope, that the long-time dating relationship, the equality of their “celebrity” status, and the presence of very strong and involved moms will help Kelce and Taylor.
And of course, being billionaires hopefully won’t hurt either!
Have they both committed themselves to Christ? Are they committed to walking with Christ in obedience as His disciples? Are they committed to making Christ the center of their marriage? Are they both active in a local church?
These are, of course, rhetorical questions with answers that are quite clear. It’s not appropriate to celebrate or elevate this couple.
This seems rather harsh.
Do you not attend weddings of people who are not committed Christians? Of course that’s your choice, but marriage is certainly better than shacking up.
I doubt Taylor and Kelce attend or are “active” in any church because of the expense (millions of dollars and a staff that most cities and towns can’t muster) that would happen because of the need for security and the disruption to the church service or Mass that would ensue as the thousands of fans converge upon the church, the parking lot, and the church neighborhood. Both of these celebrities have to be extremely careful of criminals or mentally unbalanced folks who could easily do them harm if the celebrity lets themselves be too accessible.
But that doesn’t mean that they are not involved with “church” in some way, perhaps online as most of us were during COVID, or perhaps donating monies, probably with the admonition that no one knows who is actually donating except the church treasurer or accountant.
We cannot say whether they are Christians–both grew up in good homes, and the fact that they honor their mothers and families in public and private speaks well of them.
There is a very active group of Christians in NFL, but again, I doubt Kelce takes a visible role in any of these groups because he doesn’t want to attract a crowd of fans that might make it difficult (or dangerous, if the fan was unbalanced) for the group to meet and get anything done.
There are also groups of “stars” or “celebrities” that hold Bible studies and prayer meetings. Again, I can’t say whether Taylor is involved in any of these, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she stays away so as not to be disruptive, as she attracts so many fans–actual mobs–if she is in public.
I don’t think Taylor’s songs are “Christian” in any sense and I think her costumes are immodest, but if you go to Mass, you will see plenty of younger girls and even grown women wearing outfits that alarm you and make you wonder how they will ever be able to kneel or even genuflect or sit down! It’s not my place to tell the parents of these kids to step in, or to make a comment to another woman! And when you think about it, female stars have been pushing the boundaries of immodesty vs. modesty ever since women got involved with the performing arts–the flappers come to mind. It’s not right, but…our saying so won’t make any difference. And at least, she seems to be dating rather than shacking up.
I don’t want to elevate “stars” to an exalted level, but I think that they work harder and have more pressure to succeed than pretty much anyone, even doctors. I have a daughter who works in professional theater in stage management (and is very successful)–and she works harder than anyone in our family–long hours, different gigs going all at once, constant promotion and interviews with hopes of being hired for another gig, lots of pressure to make no mistakes, long times between meals or snacks, and lots of missed holidays and family gatherings. She is a Catholic, but she doesn’t shout it out to her co-workers–she just does a really good job, encourages her co-workers and the “stars”, and works hard to make sure everyone gets the support that they need to do a good job, too.
I guess until we are in a celebrity’s shoes, we can’t really understand their lives and judge their faith or lack of faith in God.
Diogenes above (1:24 a.m.) – There’s such a thing as being too cynical. If you look up Brad Wilcox, I think you’ll agree that “woke” isn’t a particularly accurate descriptor of him.