Autistic woman, 20, sues American Academy of Pediatrics over claims she was rushed onto transgender hormone-warping drugs – despite suffering from a number of  mental health conditions

A Florida woman who claims she took hormone-disrupting drugs rashly is suing the doctors who gave her testosterone as a child.

Isabelle Ayala, now 20, claims doctors ignored the fact she has autism, ADHD and PTSD. anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder and depression when, at age 14, she was prescribed the drugs used to transition girls to boys.

She got the hormone injections after just two appointments, after discovering the concept of being trans on Instagram, Kik and Tumblr, which made her think she was born in the wrong body.

She now experiences daily pain, including vaginal dryness, burning and itching, which usually occurs after menopause, and is uncertain about her ability to have children in the future.

Ms. Ayala is suing the physicians who treated her and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an association of pediatricians who she alleges knowingly misled the public in publishing and disseminating a fraudulent “policy statement” on positive care, which is observed by many. as an authoritative guide to the treatment of gender-confused children in the US.

Isabelle Ayala, now 20, is suing the doctors who treated her and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Dr. Jason Rafferty (pictured left), a Harvard graduate, was the author of the 2018 AAP policy statement, which essentially created the “affirmative care” model, in which the physician is guided by desires expressed by the patient and recognizes, validates and supports identity. indicated by the individual. Pictured to the right is Dr. Michelle Forcier, one of the country’s most prominent figures in “gender-affirming hormones and care plans,” who contributed to Ms. Ayala’s care, as well as Dr. Rafferty

Insurance claims for puberty blockers in the US have doubled since 2017

She also told the doctors that she was unsure about taking testosterone because she might want to have a biological child in the future.

Testosterone is a male hormone that stops the menstrual cycle and reduces the ovaries’ ability to produce estrogen, meaning it can affect fertility and sexual function.

Isabelle’s is the latest in a growing number of lawsuits by detransitioners against their medical providers, leading some to speculate that a class action lawsuit may be pending.

Just last week, Layton Ulery, of North Carolina, sued doctors who led her down a path of transition as a “broken and unstable” adolescent, despite suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Ms. Ayala had a traumatizing childhood. At the age of seven, she was sexually abused, which led to her experiencing early puberty the following year.

She started self-harming at age 11, spending more and more time on Instagram, Kik and Tumblr, which introduced her to the concept of being “trans” and led her to believe she was born the wrong gender.

She told her mother at age 12 that she wanted to be a boy. Her mother believed she had been sucked into gender ideology and wanted her to wait until adulthood before embarking on irreversible medical interventions, while her father was happy to pursue whatever satisfied Isabelle in the short term.

It was around this time that Ms Ayala’s parents separated, which exacerbated her poor mental health.

At the end of December 2016, Isabelle moved from Florida to Rhode Island with her father and half-brother, leaving her mother and her friends behind.

Her father took her to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. At her first appointment, less than two weeks after her 14th birthday, the doctor noted Isabelle’s family history of anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and PTSD, as well as Isabelle’s previously diagnosed ADHD, depression, anxiety and self-harm scars.

A week later, she had an appointment with Dr. Horacio Hojman, a child psychiatrist, who diagnosed her as transgender and hospitalized her for a week.

During her week-long stay at the hospital, she met Dr. Jason Rafferty – the author of the 2018 AAP policy statement, which essentially created the model of “affirmative care,” in which the physician is guided by desires expressed by the patient have been expressed and the physician recognizes, validates and supports the identity stated by the individual.

During this meeting, Isabelle expressed her desire to have a penis, switch bodies with a boy and “do anything” to transition to an outwardly masculine appearance, but Isabelle also shared her fears about a medical transition: that she might want to undergo a biological transition later. child.

Dr. Rafferty’s visit lasted less than an hour, after which he recommended testosterone injections for her.

Isabelle’s mother refused to give consent, leading to a follow-up conversation in which Dr. Rafferty and his team convinced her mother to change her mind, by presenting testosterone as the only option available and suggesting that Isabelle would commit if she did not agree. suicide.

In the spring of 2017, Isabelle started testosterone injections. At her first follow-up appointment, Dr. Gillian Morris tripled her dosage, without asking Isabelle’s mother.

After six months of taking testosterone, Isabelle saw Dr. Michelle Forcier at the Hasbro children’s clinic and told her that she had “become increasingly depressed and anxious over the past few months,” but Dr. Forcier did nothing to slow the transition process.

Dr. Forcier is one of the country’s most prominent figures in the field of “gender-affirming hormones and care plans.”

Luka Hein, another detransitioner, shows the scars on her chest after her irreversible double mastectomy at the age of 16

She subsequently gained wider national recognition her performance in filmmaker Matt Walsh’s documentary ‘What is a Woman?’, in which she argued that babies can determine their gender identity.

In November 2017, Isabelle attempted suicide.

She later moved back to Florida in June 2018, where she took testosterone for about a year before going cold-turkey.

Without the sex hormones, Isabelle gradually grew out of her gender dysphoria and realized she was not a boy.

The years of testosterone injections have left her vaginal atrophy, physical pain and the onset of an autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s disease, which only occurred in men in her family.

‘Isabelle has suffered from vaginal atrophy due to the frequent use of testosterone; she treats excess facial and body hair; she struggles with compromised bone structure; she is unsure whether her fertility has been irreversibly compromised; She continues to suffer from mental health issues and struggles with episodes of anxiety and depression, which are exacerbated by a sense of remorse,” the lawsuit said.