March 12 marks National Detransitioner Awareness Day, a crucial moment to spotlight the stories of those who regret their so-called “gender transitions.” The reality is clear: gender ideology is a destructive lie, one that has left thousands of young people permanently scarred, both physically and emotionally. And yet, the mainstream media and transgender ideology advocates refuse to acknowledge the growing number of detransitioners. While they claim that those who oppose the lies and harm of trans ideology are trying to “erase” or “don’t see” trans individuals, they are the ones deliberately denying or ignoring the existence of those who have seen the truth, experienced the harms and are speaking out against the damage done.
Chloe Cole: A Voice for the Silenced
Chloe Cole’s story is a harrowing example of the medical abuse inflicted on vulnerable young people under the guise of so-called “gender-affirming care.” At just 13 years old, she was put on puberty blockers and given testosterone. By 15, she underwent a double mastectomy—an irreversible and tragic decision encouraged by the very doctors who should have been protecting her. As she later realized, “It destroyed me. It destroyed parts of my body. It’s destroyed my health. It’s absolutely not for kids.”
Her words should be a wake-up call. No child can truly consent to these procedures. And yet, rather than pause to examine the consequences of such reckless medical experimentation, the radical gender movement continues to push its dangerous agenda onto more children, silencing those who dare to dissent.
The Epidemic of Regret
Chloe is not alone. More and more young people are speaking out about the permanent damage they suffered from the so-called “gender-affirming” care that was supposed to make them happy. A newly published study of 107,583 patients who identify as transgender found that those who underwent surgery “were at significantly higher risk for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use disorders than those without surgery.” Even more disturbing, males who underwent surgery showed a higher prevalence of depression than those who did not.
Many brave young people are speaking out against this permanent harm. Several shared their story in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments in the Skrmetti case, which is challenging the constitutionality of good laws passed in states like Tennessee that stop children from harmful puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries that remove healthy body parts.
This research exposes the truth: so-called “gender affirming care” does not heal—it harms. And yet, the activists who push these chemical and medical interventions refuse to take responsibility for the lives they have shattered.
The Lies of Radical Gender Ideology
Radical gender activists claim that those who oppose their movement “deny the existence” of people suffering from gender dysphoria. This is a deliberate misrepresentation. As Seth Dillon rightly put it:
Nancy Pearcey, a professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University and a best-selling author, adds to this with another sharp observation:
This is the key distinction that the transgender movement desperately wants to obscure. A man cannot become a woman. A woman cannot become a man. No amount of drugs, surgeries, or social conditioning can alter the objective, biological reality.
The deception doesn’t stop at identity—it extends to the emotional manipulation used to coerce parents, policymakers, and the public into accepting dangerous medical interventions. One of the most insidious lies promoted by transgender activists is the false claim that “gender-affirming care” prevents suicide. This argument is wielded like a weapon to pressure parents into consenting to irreversible medical treatments for their children. Yet, under scrutiny, this claim crumbles. The well debunked lie that affirmation is the only alternative to suicide has become the cornerstone of modern transgender activism, often appearing to be the movement’s primary rhetorical tool.
A recent exchange at the U.S. Supreme Court between Justice Samuel Alito and ACLU attorney Chase Strangio further exposes the falsehoods used to justify so-called “gender-affirming care.” Strangio was forced to admit under oath that the widely touted claim of high suicide rates among gender-dysphoric youth is false. While U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asserted that the “rates of suicide” in this population were “striking,” Strangio later conceded that completed suicide is actually rare. This direct admission dismantles one of the most frequently repeated justifications for subjecting children to irreversible medical interventions. Even the movement’s own legal representatives cannot defend their false narrative under oath.
The Medical Scandal of Our Time
The tragic rise of detransitioners should be setting off alarm bells in every major medical institution. Instead, those who profit from transgender ideology are doubling down. Doctors, therapists, pharmaceutical companies, and activists continue pushing these procedures, ignoring the voices of regret and pain coming from those they have harmed.
Sadly, most PA voters may not know that taxpayers have funded these harmful procedures to thousands of children in Pennsylvania. Five thousand young people (age 18 and under) have used over $20 million in taxpayer funding since 2015 to be experimented upon with “sex reassignment and transition-related drugs and services,” according to reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in records obtained by the Pennsylvania Family Institute.
The number of children impacted by these “services” – which are financially covered through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in PA – has grown from 100 in 2015 to over 2,000 in 2023. Child recipients have been as young as five years old.
The Need for Action
The silence surrounding detransitioners must be broken. Their suffering is not an unfortunate side effect of transgender ideology—it is the inevitable result of a movement built on lies. On this National Detransitioner Awareness Day, we must commit ourselves to exposing the truth, speaking up boldly for what is right, supporting those who have been harmed, and fighting to put an end to this moral, medical and cultural catastrophe.
Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair County) will soon introduce the Do No Harm Act, a bill to stop children from being experimented on with these irreversible surgeries and procedures. As Sen. Ward asks, “How does a child possibly make an informed decision on life-altering choices such as these? They cannot.”
No more children should have to suffer as Chloe Cole did. No more lies should be tolerated. The time to reject transgender ideology in its entirety is now.
Thank you for your courage in speaking the truth about the harm transgender ideology and advocacy is causing to our children and families in Pennsylvania and across this nation. I am grateful for your stand!