Detransitioner
Chloe Cole stepped back into the national spotlight as federal officials unveiled sweeping proposals aimed at ending what they refer to as “sex-rejecting procedures” for minors. Her presence, calm yet unmistakably heavy with lived experience, underscored the emotional weight behind the policy shift.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the move in Washington, marking a pivotal moment tied to a January executive order that called for protections against what the administration labeled “chemical and surgical mutilation.” According to an HHS official, the planned actions would effectively cut federal funding from hospitals offering transition procedures for children.
Cole’s Journey Through Transition
Cole, now 21, began transitioning at just 12 years old. Over four years, she received puberty blockers, testosterone injections, and later a double mastectomy. She appeared alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as she urged families to push for caution and emotional support rather than quick medical decisions.
After the event, she told that the interventions left permanent marks on her body and health.
A Childhood Redirected
Cole recalled that once she expressed discomfort with her gender, professionals rushed toward a single path.
“As soon as gender was in the picture, none of my doctors or psychologists asked the real questions that they should have,” said Cole.
“The entire focus was on my feelings and what I wanted rather than what I really needed in that moment.”
She emphasized what she felt was missing: connection and reassurance.
What she needed, she said, was to be accepted for who she was created to be, “as a young and yet tomboyish little girl.”
She said clinicians highlighted only the supposed benefits of halting her natural puberty and taking testosterone, while failing to properly explain long-term consequences.
“There was nothing they could say to me that would make me understand the gravity of what I was about to go through, because I was still growing up,” said Cole. “I had very little experience in the world, and I simply would not be mature enough to be equipped to undergo such a life-changing procedure in every way.”
A Family Under Pressure
Cole noted that her parents never believed she was actually transgender, yet they were frightened and overwhelmed by the warnings they received from professionals.
“At the time when we started going through this as a family, there really were no resources that would speak to the reality of transgenderism, especially for children,” she said. “Most people were not aware then that this was something that was even happening in our hospital systems.”
She added that her parents were repeatedly cautioned that refusing the treatments could end in tragedy.
“My legal guardians were forced to make this decision under duress,” she shared in a previous statement. “But even if my parents had supported transitioning medically from the start, no parent or any adult, ultimately, has a right to determine whether a child gets to be chemically sterilized or mutilated.”
A Life Marked by Medical Complications
Years later, Cole says her physical challenges are ongoing. “My quality of life is still being impacted to this day,” she wrote.
She says her fertility is unknown. She also revealed she will never be able to breastfeed due to her surgery.
“As an adult, I am now grieving, and on top of that, the areolar skin grafts they used in my surgery began to fail two years afterward. I must wear bandages on my chest every day,” Cole wrote.
“As an adult, I am now grieving.”
In 2023, she filed a lawsuit with the Center for American Liberty (CAL), alleging medical negligence and coercion.
CAL’s Mark Trammell welcomed the government’s latest announcement, saying it “represents a critical acknowledgment that experimental medical interventions on children with gender distress have failed to meet basic standards of safety and effectiveness.”
“It signals that medicine must return to its core ethical obligation: First, do no harm,” Trammell added. “We will continue fighting to ensure accountability for the institutions that promoted these practices and to secure justice for the children and detransitioners whose lives were forever altered.”
Doctors Urge Caution
In a previous statement, medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel called for a careful, reduced-risk approach when treating minors.
“Long-term effects of puberty blockers may include bone loss, trouble concentrating, interference with learning and interference with fertility,” he said. “I think it makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments, including surgery, that may be difficult to reverse.”
“It makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments.”
He added that political pressure should not drive medical decision-making. “This means not superimposing an ideology or pushing physicians to act in a certain way or under pressure,” Siegel said.
“The welfare of the child must come first. In this case, it means going very slowly and providing support to a child or teen with gender dysphoria.”
A Message to Other Young People
Cole hopes her experience encourages young people to pause and seek support rather than rushing toward irreversible treatments.
“While there are only two sexes, there are a million different ways that you can be yourself,” she added.
“God is there for you. He is the one who has created you this way, and you can seek his counsel,” Cole went on.
“You can continue praying, and I think ultimately it’s connecting with your family, building your purpose in this world, and looking to the gospel and up to God.”
