Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a leading figure in the field of transgender procedures for minors, is facing a landmark lawsuit filed by a female detransitioner who says she has been permanently harmed by treatment given to her before she even became a teenager.
The patient suing is Clementine Breen, a 20-year-old biological woman from California who began intensive procedures aimed at helping her identify as a boy starting from the age of 12. Breen says she began to cease her testosterone treatment around the age of 17 and now claims that rushed medical interventions under Olson-Kennedy’s advice caused irreversible harm.
“She was a vulnerable child suffering from untreated PTSD from traumatic events in her childhood,” her lawyers filed in a 29-page complaint at the Los Angeles County Superior Court. “Consequently, she detransitioned and no longer identifies as a male. But the damage has been done, and it is profound.”
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, raises questions about the ethics of transitioning minors without comprehensive psychological evaluations and could have significant implications for medical practitioners in this field. It also comes on the heels of Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday in United States v. Skrmetti, in which the Biden administration sought to preempt Tennessee from barring minors from undergoing cross-sex hormone and puberty-blocking treatments, as well as surgeries.
Breen alleges that Olson-Kennedy fast-tracked her into medical transition at the age of 12, despite a lack of clarity about her identity. After a brief school counseling session in which Breen expressed confusion about her gender and sexuality, her parents were referred to Olson-Kennedy at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Within three months, Breen was placed on puberty blockers. By 13, she was prescribed testosterone, and at 14, she underwent a double mastectomy.
The lawsuit furthers that Olson-Kennedy pressured Breen’s parents into consenting by warning them that Breen might die by suicide without these interventions. Breen disputes this, stating she had never expressed suicidal ideation.
