Top takeaways
A New York jury awarded detransitioner Varian Fox $2 million in damages after finding her psychologist and surgeon liable for medical malpractice.
Varian alleged she was pressured into undergoing a double mastectomy at age 16 after less than a year of social “transitioning,” without proper assessment or informed consent.
Testimony indicated her psychologist repeatedly warned that she would commit suicide without the surgery and admitted he generally avoids questioning patients seeking surgical transitions.
Legal experts say the landmark verdict — the first detransitioner case to go before a jury — could set a precedent affecting malpractice liability and “pediatric gender medicine” nationwide.
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In an unprecedented decision, a New York jury Jan. 30 awarded a detransitioner $2 million in damages after she sued her medical care providers for malpractice, alleging that they pressured her into “transitioning.”
Varian Fox underwent a mastectomy in 2019 at age 16 after nearly a year of socially “transitioning” to a male identity, which Benjamin Ryan, the only journalist who attended the entire three-week trial, explained on X. Varian sued her psychologist, Kenneth Einhorn, and Simon Chin, the doctor who performed the mastectomy, for malpractice in 2023, claiming they had not followed standard practices and arguing she did not give informed consent.
Ryan reported for The Free Press that Varian’s mother, Claire Deacon, consented to the mastectomy after Einhorn threatened that Varian would commit suicide without it.
“I was scared out of my wits by the things that Dr. Einhorn was so confident in repeatedly telling me and my daughter,” Deacon testified during the trial, according to Ryan. “Without Dr. Einhorn repeatedly, emphatically, consistently pushing me, telling me that this was going to, quote, ‘cure’ my daughter, make everything better in her life, I would never have made that decision.”
Ryan further reported that Einhorn said during the trial that he could not remember whether he had questioned Varian’s desire to “transition.” The psychologist also reportedly told Varian’s father during a recorded call that his practice is to avoid questioning individuals seeking surgical “transitions.”
Varian reportedly testified that if Einhorn had questioned her decision, she might have reconsidered the mastectomy.
“Instead, she took what she characterized as his affirming attitude as a sign of approval from a man she trusted and looked up to as an authority figure,” Ryan reported.
Although detransitioner lawsuits have begun appearing across the country, Varian’s suit was the first to go before a jury. The historic decision in her favor could change the future of gender “transitions.”
“While there are no guarantees in medical malpractice lawsuits, legal experts believe Varian’s victory could inspire a wave of similar cases that would significantly disrupt pediatric gender medicine,” Ryan reported.
He later posted on X that legal experts also say the case could “drive up malpractice insurance rates and lead care providers to exercise more caution in assessing youth with gender dysphoria.”
As Zeale News previously reported, the Texas Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in a similar case addressing whether detransitioner Soren Aldaco’s lawsuit against her former therapist — which alleges negligence over a letter she says recommended her for a double mastectomy — falls within the statute of limitations.