The $2 million award in a lawsuit brought by a former "transgender male" named Fox Varian against her psychologist and plastic surgeon has sent a tremor through the gender transition industry. At the same time, it has buoyed the detransitioning community.
PJ Media's Catherine Salgado first covered the story in January. Since that judgment, two major medical societies have reversed course and now caution against the use of any drugs or surgery on minors to deal with the symptoms of gender dysphoria.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) cited “limitations in study quality, consistency and follow-up, alongside emerging evidence of treatment complications and potential harms." The ASPS also said that "there is 'insufficient evidence' that the benefits outweigh the harms of prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers to adolescents," according to The Economist.
Even more significantly, the American Medical Association (AMA) said, “the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient… the AMA agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.”
The transgender fever has broken. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report in 2025 that concluded the benefits of giving children powerful drugs or performing irreversible surgical procedures on them were far outweighed by the risks and also raised ethical concerns. This conclusion echoes Great Britain's Cass Review, which stated that "evidence for the benefits (and harms) of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on children and adolescents was 'remarkably weak,'" according to The Economist.
Proponents of adolescent transitioning have played down Ms Varian’s case, claiming the circumstances make it of limited relevance to other detransition lawsuits. Critics, by contrast, think the past week could prove a turning-point. Lawsuits have been filed by more than two dozen other detransitioners. Observers believe the damages, all told, could run into hundreds of millions of dollars. “I wouldn’t say this is the dam breaking, but this is clearly more cracks appearing in the dam,” says Leor Sapir, a co-author of the recent HHS report.
At the very least, the successful suit by Fox Varian should prevent gender transition being foisted on kids and their parents as a catch-all diagnosis for common mental illness.
"Following an episode of self-harm, a pediatrician was recommended to help teenager Prisha Mosley address her eating disorder," according to a report in The Center Square. "After a brief consultation, the pediatrician concluded that Prisha was actually a boy and recommended a therapist specializing in transgender care."
Ms. Mosley's medical malpractice suit was dismissed because of the statute of limitations. This is a common problem in many states, where a limit of a year or two before filing for damages applies.
“She [Parlato] suffers from, what she will tell you, is mental health issues and depression and anxiety,” Parlato told The Center Square on Thursday. “Her parents were alcoholics, and in her school, they got her right into ‘Well, you're in the wrong body and we can help you.’ And of course, at a young age, she was not only taking cross-sex hormones, but has her healthy breasts cut off and everything else.”
It's like some Gothic nightmare come to life. Perhaps if there are enough massive judgments in favor of detransitioners, the gender transition medical community will get the message and stop harming children with its quack diagnoses.
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