Opinion

At 14, I endured ‘gender-affirming care.’ I’ll suffer with that for the rest of my life

Detransitioner describes irreversible damage from hormones and surgery prescribed after her 14th birthday

By Claire Abernathy Fox News

Published May 22, 2026 9:00am EDT

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Imagine getting put on testosterone at 14 years old because doctors convinced you that if you didn’t, you may be suicidal.

While I was physically very healthy, I was emotionally and mentally vulnerable — struggling with profound discomfort in my body after childhood sexual abuse. In the eyes of the medical system, that distress was enough to justify permanently altering my body before I was old enough to fully understand what was being taken from me.

This is my story, and one that I look back on with regret and immense pain.

A week after my 14th birthday, I was prescribed testosterone and no one meaningfully explored alternatives. No one addressed the underlying trauma beneath my dysphoria. No one suggested that adolescence itself can be painful and confusing, particularly for girls dealing with abuse.

WOMAN WHO LIVED AS MAN SAYS SHE GRIEVED ‘UNWANTED BODY PARTS’ AFTER TRANSITION

Claire Abernathy endured gender transition at the young age of 14. (Independent Women)

Eight months later, surgeons performed a double mastectomy on me. My entire life changed within months.

Now, at 21 years old, I live with the consequences every hour of my life, but I share my story to expose the dangers of irreversible gender transition procedures on........

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