These surgeries are irreversible and dangerous: Detransitioned woman
Detransitioned woman offers warning about new trans surgery guidelines.
A woman who de-transitioned sounded the alarm Tuesday night on "The Ingraham Angle" about gender reassignment surgeries being performed on minors under age 18.
"These surgeries are irreversible. They're dangerous," said Cat Cattinson, who de-transitioned after living as a transgender man for about 15 years.
"There's no way a child should be making this decision and absolutely the very last thing we should be doing is lowering the age at which these body-mutilating procedures can be performed."
Children’s hospitals nationwide will soon be faced with the decision of whether to continue following the guidance of a leading transgender health association that is expected to lower its recommended ages for chest and genital surgeries to minors under 18.
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LGBT activists and their supporters rally on the steps of New York City Hall, Oct. 24, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has yet to release its much-anticipated Standards of Care Version 8, which will lower its age recommendations for breast removal to 15 years old, and genital surgery, including womb and testicle removal, to 17 years old – a year earlier than its previous guidance, The Associated Press reported in June, citing an unreleased draft of the new guidance.
WPATH’s earlier guidance, Standards of Care Version 7, released in 2011, specified that genital surgery should not be carried out until patients reach the "legal age of majority in a given country," and until "patients have lived continuously for at least 12 months in the gender role that is congruent with their gender identity."
It also stated that chest surgeries for females transitioning to male could be performed on individuals younger than 18.
WPATH President Dr. Walter Pierre Bouman issued a statement in late July saying the new Version 8 guidance would likely be released online prior to the organization’s annual conference in Montreal on Sept. 16 but that they were in a "very tight race against time" to meet the deadline.
With Sept. 16 quickly approaching, children’s hospitals across the country that currently follow WPATH’s guidance will soon be met with the decision whether to update their own policies to reflect WPATH’s lowered age recommendations.
Cattinson, a singer, said that there is a severe lack of evidence into the long-term outcomes of transitioning and an increasing number of transgender individuals who regret the choice.
"Recent studies show de-transition rates going higher and higher, some from some studies that came out this year. It's coming out to between seven and 30%, which is quite a bit higher than some older studies that examine surgical regret," she said, expressing doubts about the scientific evidence being used by those who support such surgeries.
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Cattinson said her vocal cords were damaged by taking testosterone and her singing voice will never be the same.
"It's actually painful to use my voice for more than a limited time. … There's a growing number of de-transitioners like myself and I've heard so many of these stories and I just hope that by spreading awareness, we can prevent more of these tragedies."
Fox News Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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