A very brave 17-year-old girl is speaking out to warn both parents and teens about transitioning from one gender to another.
Chloe Cole, from Central Valley in California, is in the process of de-transitioning from being a boy and she is also telling the truth about allowing children to change genders.
Cole said, “No child should have to experience what I have.”
Chloe was at a hearing with healthcare officials in Tallahassee to support a Florida rule that blocks Medicare funds from covering transgender medical procedures.
She was asked about her advice for parents, and she said directly, “Do not transition your kids.”
The state of Florida presently does not support the medicalization of minors for gender transition because the benefits are unproven and the risks are significantly high.
Chloe began her treatment for gender transition when she was just 13 years of age. When she was 14, she began using the name Leo and she was taking puberty blockers and testosterone injections given to her by her mother. Because of this treatment, she is not sure that she will be able to ever have children.
“I was unknowingly physically cutting off my true self from my body, irreversibly and painfully,” Cole said. She was careful to note that she will not be able to breastfeed children now that she has had a double mastectomy.
“That realization, actually, was one of the biggest things that led to me realizing that this was not the path that I should have taken.”
The teen also described the fact that she is at risk for certain types of cancer because of the major medical procedures on her body.
She joined with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo urging the Florida Board of Medicine to stop providing transition care for children and adolescents due to the lack of evidence, high risk, and irreversible harms.
When Cole was asked what the public should be doing, she said, “The best all of us can do is continue to speak out. Especially to local, state, and federal government. That’s how we will beat this.”
Watch –
Florida doesn’t support the medicalization of minors with GD because the benefits are unproven, and the risks are extraordinarily high.
Chloe was treated with puberty blockers and testosterone at the age of 13. @ChoooCole was courageous enough to share her story with us. pic.twitter.com/vL8SF5BH0o
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) July 10, 2022
