Chloe Cole

Chloe Cole (born July 27, 2004[1]) is an American activist who opposes gender-affirming care for minors and supports bans on such care following her own detransition. She has appeared with conservative politicians and in the media, supporting and advocating for such bans.[2][3][4] Cole says that she began transitioning at 12 and detransitioned at 17 after having undergone treatment which included puberty blockers, testosterone, and a double mastectomy.[5]

Not to be confused with Chloe Coleman.

Chloe Cole
Cole speaks in 2022
Born (2004-07-27) July 27, 2004
California, U.S.
Years active2022 – present
Known forOpposing medical gender transition for minors

Personal life

Cole is from California's Central Valley.[2][6] She reported facing mental health challenges as a minor, which included being on the autism spectrum.[7][8] She is a detransitioner and describes herself as a "former trans kid".[2] Cole says that she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at 9 years old and was treated by Kaiser Permanente clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area between the ages of 13 and 17.[9]

She has described herself as having been a "tomboy" who did not fit social norms and only started thinking about transitioning after creating an Instagram account and reportedly being recommended lots of LGBTQ content, particularly content containing transgender boys, telling The Daily Signal Podcast that "social media introduced this idea that I could be a boy".[10]

Cole says that she began transitioning at 12 years old,[2] and that she had been sexually assaulted during her eighth grade year and began binding her breasts afterward.[11]

In February 2018,[2] she was prescribed the puberty blocker Lupron at age 13.[3][2][12] A month later, she started testosterone injections, which she continued for two years.[2] Cole had a double mastectomy at age 15[12][2] in June 2020.[3]

Less than a year after the surgery,[3] she realized she may want to breastfeed someday, which she would not be able to do. At 17, she reverted to using her birth name and detransitioned. Cole has said that her doctor did not follow the standards of care from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and that she did not know detransitioners existed until she was one.[2][3][10] When she expressed regret to her gender care specialist, they offered to recommend a surgeon for breast reconstruction, which she decided not to pursue.[3]

Cole's parents have stayed out of the media spotlight. Cole says she does not hold them responsible for consenting to her treatment and surgery and that they "received intense social pressure and pressure from medical professionals".[2]

Activism

Legislation
See also: Detransition § Forced detransition of minors

Starting in May 2022, Cole began testifying in the United States against medical transition and appeared on Fox News to denounce gender-affirming care for minors. She has said that neither minors nor their parents should be able to consent to such care and that parents face "extreme external pressures to consent."[2] Cole's views on gender-affirming care for minors diverge from those of most major associations of medical professionals, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and WPATH.[13]

In May 2022, Cole testified in support of Ohio House Bill 454, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors.[14][15] The bill failed to make it through the session but was revised and reintroduced in 2023.[16]

In July, Cole testified in favor of an eventually passed Florida bill that denied Medicaid coverage for procedures that alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics for both adults and children. The law has established that they are not a "medical necessity" since any coverage must meet this requirement.[17][12][18] Cole was one of eight detransitioners who spoke in favor of a Florida Board of Medicine measure that would bar minors from "receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries as treatment for gender dysphoria." Cole was the only one of the eight who had received such care before the age of 18.[19] During the public comment period, Cole asked "why is a mental health epidemic not being addressed with mental health treatment to get at the root causes for why female adolescents like me want to reject their bodies?"[19]

In September, Cole spoke at a press conference organized by Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in support of her "Protect Children's Innocence Act". Cole said that while she did not agree with everything any politician says, this bill which "protects children from the harm" that she endured was a cause she "could get behind".[2][20] The act would make it a felony to provide any gender-affirming care to a minor, prohibit the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care or towards health insurance covering it for all ages, and prohibit colleges from offering instruction in such care.[21][22]

The same month, Cole testified against a bill introduced by Senator Scott Wiener to make California a sanctuary state for children seeking gender-affirming care. The bill was passed and went into effect in January 2023.[9]

In September 2022, Dawn Ennis, writing for the LGBT newspaper Los Angeles Blade, described Cole as "the poster child for far-right politicians and religious conservatives working to ban gender-affirming care and to prosecute the doctors and parents who support their children's transitions for child abuse."[2]

In January 2023, Cole testified in support of Utah House Bill 132, which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Before the hearing, a crowd of approximately 200 gathered on the steps of the Capitol to rally in support of the state's transgender youth. The protestors included LGBTQ advocates, parents of transgender kids, and transgender adults and youth themselves. Parents of transgender youth testified against the bill.[23]

In February, Cole testified in favor of Kansas Senate Bill 233, which would ban gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for minors, allow for civil suits against, and revoke the licenses of, doctors who provided such care.[24] Cole said that those under 18 should not be allowed to make these decisions and that the surgeries do more harm than good.[25]

In Wyoming, state senator Anthony Bouchard sponsored Senate File 144, which he dubbed "Chloe's Law" after Cole. The bill would lead to doctors' licenses being revoked if they administer gender-affirming care to minors. Bouchard said the focus on doctors reflects one of Cole's main concerns, namely that schools and doctors convince parents to allow their child to transition, and that "Chloe doesn't want to make criminals out of her parents". Bouchard also announced his intention to support Senate File 111, which would make providing such care felony child abuse. When Bouchard announced "Chloe's Law" on Twitter, Cole responded "thank you, Senator. I will support this bill in any way I can."[26]

Cole then spoke in favor of a Tennessee bill that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors, defined as any healthcare that would assist in identifying with, or living as, a purported identity inconsistent with their assigned sex at birth.[27][28]

In Idaho, Representative Bruce Skaug proposed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for those under 18 and make providing such care a felony. Cole accepted an invitation from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank, to speak in support of the bill.[29]

Rallies

In October 2022, Cole was among a number of speakers at a "Rally to End Child Mutilation" hosted by right-wing commentator Matt Walsh in Nashville.[30][31]

In January 2023, Cole was one of five panelists who spoke at an event titled "Stolen Innocence: A Panel on the Insidious Ideology Infecting Your Children's Education",[32] about schools allegedly sexually grooming students by teaching them about gender identity and sexual orientation.[4]

The same month in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Cole was a speaker at a "Teens Against Gender Mutilation Rally", sponsored by Turning Point USA. Cole described the trans community as "a cult" and spoke against gender-affirming care for minors.[33][34] Eventbrite reportedly unpublished the listing due to violating their policies on "Hateful, Dangerous, or Violent Content and Events".[32]

In March 2023, she spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC, on a panel titled "A Time for Courage".[35]

Later that month, Cole headlined a Detransition Awareness Day rally in Sacramento, CA. Roughly 40 people gathered in opposition to gender-affirming care. Nearby, counter-protesters gathered.[36]

On April 17, 2023, Cole spoke along with Dr. Carrie Mendoza at an event at Dartmouth College. Chloe said that she believed that children were too young to make "lasting medical decisions", adding that "if you are a fully grown adult … and completely understand the consequences, yes, I support you getting that surgery."[37]

Platform

In mid-July 2022 she started a GoFundMe called "Imperfectly Me", aimed at providing a platform for detransitioners.[2]

Lawsuit

On November 9, 2022, Cole filed a 90-day notice of intent to sue against the healthcare company Kaiser Permanente along with the individual endocrinologist, psychiatrist, and plastic surgeon involved in her treatment. Cole was represented by Harmeet Dhillon (the chief executive of the Center for American Liberty) and the law firm LiMandri & Jonna LLP.[38][9] The lawsuit[39] was filed in the San Joaquin County Superior Court in Manteca on February 22, 2023.[9][40]

According to the lawsuit, that Cole's care included "off label" treatment and "amounted to medical experimentation." According to the suit, Cole was not given adequate information to provide informed consent to her hormone therapy and later developed joint pain, weak bone density, and ongoing urinary tract infections.[3][41] Cole says that doctors did not inform her parents (or other parents) of alternative, less invasive treatments like psychiatric care, and that they told her that her gender dysphoria would "never resolve unless she chemically and surgically transitioned".[5] The case is the second known lawsuit filed in the United States on this topic; Camille Kiefel, a 32-year-old woman, filed a similar case in Multnomah County, Oregon, in 2022.[39]

Erin Allday, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, described Cole's case as a "political touchstone for conservative groups pushing against transgender rights and access to gender-affirming care for young people."[9]

The Economist opined that, should detransitioning suits such as Cole's be successful, insurers could come to regard gender transition treatments as a liability, which would raise the treatment costs and make providers more careful about advertising; it added that, if the facts of the case were as claimed, it could give pro-transitioning activists cause for reflection on how care is currently provided.[5]

See also
  • Bell v Tavistock – court case in the United Kingdom about the use of puberty blockers

References
  1. Chloe Cole [@ChoooCole] (July 27, 2023). "Thank you for all the birthday wishes!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Ennis, Dawn (September 11, 2022). "California ex-trans teen is national right-wing media's darling". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  3. Respaut, Robin; Terhune, Chad; Conlin, Michelle (December 22, 2022). "Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care". Reuters. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. Clark, Quinn (January 27, 2023). "Panel of right-wing activists claim schools are 'sexually grooming' children by teaching gender identity, event at Pewaukee hotel draws protests". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  5. "Legal action may change transgender care in America". The Economist. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023.
  6. "Fifth & Mission Podcast: The anti-trans culture war hits the Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. February 27, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  7. Schemmel, Alec (February 24, 2023). "'Detransitioner' sues doctors after being given irreversible gender treatments as child". The National Desk. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. Heipel, Edie (September 24, 2022). "Meet the 18-year-old leading the fight to protect children from transgender surgeries". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  9. Allday, Erin (February 23, 2023). "Conservative group sues Kaiser Permanente over transgender care". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  10. McHugh, Rich (December 16, 2022). "3 teens who thought they were trans explain why they detransitioned". NewsNation. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  11. "Chloe Cole: 'I'm Still Recovering' From Hormones, Surgery at 15". Independent Women's Forum. February 6, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023 – via YouTube.
  12. Ghorayshi, Azeen (November 4, 2022). "Florida Restricts Doctors From Providing Gender Treatments to Minors". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  13. Sheeler, Andrew (March 9, 2023). "The culture war comes to Sacramento as anti-transgender 'de-transitioner' rally planned". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  14. "Ohio House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee: Testimony – Chloe Cole, Proponent". The Ohio Channel. May 26, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  15. Bailey, Brittany (May 19, 2022). "Bill banning gender-affirming care for minors sparks debate at Ohio Statehouse". WBNS. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  16. Bailey, Brittany (February 22, 2023). "The SAFE Act returns to the Ohio Statehouse". WBNS. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  17. Kam, Dara (July 9, 2022). "Florida's transgender treatment rule draws raucous response". WUWF. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  18. CBS Miami Team (February 21, 2023). "Florida House panel eyes treatments for trans kids". CBS News. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  19. Yurcaba, Jo (October 29, 2022). "Florida medical board votes to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors". NBC News. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  20. Bollinger, Alex (September 8, 2022). "Marjorie Taylor Greene shares child's medical photos in bizarre anti-trans rant". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  21. Brooke Migdon, Emily Brooks (August 19, 2022). "Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces bill to make gender-affirming care for transgender youth a felony". The Hill. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  22. HR No. 8731 of August 19, 2022. US Federal.
  23. McKellar, Katie (January 24, 2023). "Utah lawmakers reject hardline ban on transgender treatments for kids". Deseret News. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  24. Mipro, Rachel (February 14, 2023). "Bill blocking gender-affirming care for Kansas transgender youths panned by opponents". The Kansas Reflector. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  25. Mesa, Blaise (February 14, 2023). "Some Kansas lawmakers want to punish doctors who help transgender kids transition". Kcur - Kansas City News and NPR. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  26. McFarland, Clair (January 23, 2023). "Bouchard Introduces Bill That Would Ban Child Sex Change Surgeries In Wyoming". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  27. Davis, Chris; West, Emily (January 31, 2023). "Bill restricting gender-affirming care among minors nudged forward in Tennessee legislature". News Channel 5. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  28. "Tennessee bill to ban trans treatments for minors advances in committees". The Tennessean. January 31, 2023.
  29. Holmes, Brian; Baertlein, Andrew (February 2, 2023). "Idaho bill to ban gender affirming care for minors is met with opposing perspectives". KTVB7. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  30. Villarreal, Daniel (October 28, 2022). "GOP senator speaks at transphobic rally where people threatened to kill doctors". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  31. Herner, Hannah (October 21, 2022). "Anti-Trans Rally Led by Matt Walsh Brings Right-Wing Media Stars to Nashville". Nashville Scene. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  32. Schemmel, Alec (February 7, 2023). "'Hateful, Dangerous': Event warning about consequences of gender transitions dropped". KATV. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  33. Masters, Hamilton Matthew (January 30, 2022). "Proud Boys and LGBTQ Rights Supporters Face Off in Murfreesboro". Nashville Scene. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  34. Michael, Olivia (January 29, 2023). "'Teens Against Gender Mutilation Rally' draws opposing crowds in Murfreesboro". News Channel 5. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  35. Woodward, Alex (March 4, 2023). "CPAC offers a platform for an avalanche of anti-trans attacks". The Independent. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  36. Hatch, Jenavieve (March 11, 2023). "Protesters, counter-protesters square off in Sacramento over gender-confirming health care". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  37. Qusba, Aryanna (May 23, 2023). "Activist Chloe Cole sparks campus protest". The Dartmouth. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  38. "Notice of Intent to Sue" (PDF). Center for American Liberty. November 9, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2022.
  39. Abou-Diwan, Antoine (February 28, 2023). "Stockton woman one of few to sue over transgender surgery". San Francisco Daily Journal. No. 39. Daily Journal Corporation. p. 2.
  40. "Complaint" (PDF). Center for American Liberty. February 22, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2023.
  41. Fairley, Juliette (November 18, 2022). "Trans teen who regrets double mastectomy is poised to sue Kaiser Permanente". Southern California Record. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
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