This piece argues that medical transition for minors is harmful, documents a 17-year-old’s regret and physical consequences, likens the practice to historic abuses, notes some legal wins by detransitioners, and warns that political shifts could shield providers from accountability.

Writing about this is painful because it forces us to look directly at real children harmed in the name of ideology. Like the historic effort to archive atrocities so they could not be denied, we need a clear record of what medical transition has done to young people. That documentation matters for policy, for medicine, and for any honest public debate. We owe the victims truth and attention.

Consider the case of a 17-year-old who has gone through years of medical interventions and now says she regrets it. The description given is stark: she is bald, has a deep voice, and reports that the transition left her looking and feeling different from the girl she had hoped to be. Her story is not an abstract debate; it is a young life reshaped by irreversible treatments and difficult consequences.

The post reads (emphasis added):

I’ve never posted on Reddit before, so I’m really sorry if I do something wrong. I (ftmtf) am 17 and have been transitioning medically for three years (Lupron for three, testosterone for three, top surgery last year, and name/gender marker change last year as well). Although technically, I’ve been out as transgender since I was 11. I’ve since realized transitioning wasn’t right for me and I feel really really scared. I’ve told my mom but not anybody else yet. I was hoping my doubts internalized issues and would go away but I’m starting to realize this isn’t the case and I’m petrified of the next steps. Hair loss is very common in my family and now I have androgenic alopecia and I’m basically bald, my voice is super deep, my body is incredibly masculine, even when I try to present fem I just look like a teenage boy in drag. And I don’t even want to think about the fact that legally I’m completely male. 

https://x.com/StevenErtelt/status/2081514952305573984

My parents used to be incredibly anti-trans but they ended up coming around after a suicide attempt when I was around 14. I don’t know what to do. I think I just really hated my body and everything about myself and now I hate myself even more. My family was also incredibly homophobic and I worry that I just transitioned so I could be “straight” (which I hate to think about because I literally feel like a terf talking point rn). I’m still on testosterone but this week I plan on stopping but I feel so upset. I don’t want a cycle and I dn’t want to be detrans. I feel like I’m never going to look like a girl or even a pretty one for that matter. I also feel like I lok so male that there’s no way lesbians would even accept me.

I guess I just feel really bad right now. Could someone please tell that things are going to be okay and that things will get better? If that’s even possible? Will I ever be a pretty girl or even just like a normal looking girl????? How the f**k do I deal with periods and how do I be a girl … I don’t even know how. Sorry idk if this even counts as a question I’m just kindve [sic] freaking out. I’ve lived basically my whole life trying to be a boy, and now I’m not sure anymore, and I’m so scared.

Edit: I’m an emotional wreck right now and I feel too exhausted to respond to every comment atm. I can’t stop crying but the responses have helped me a lot and I’ve read all of them and will probably come back to this post to reread a lot of them and respond at some point when I’m in a better place. I’ll respond when I can maybe. I just feel really tired. I have a lot to think about. Thank you all, I didn’t expect everyone to be so nice.

How incredibly sad. Her last best hope was that her parents were “anti-trans” but the suicide attempt scared them into action that now haunts their child. That detail is wrenching because it shows how fear can push families into choices they later regret. The human cost here is more than political rhetoric; it is permanent changes to a teenager’s body and future.

This is abuse, plain and simple, and the only honest way to describe it is to call it out. We can compare it to other instances in history where medicine and ideology combined to harm vulnerable people, because failing to name practices that damage children leaves the door open for repetition. Calling this what it is does not lack compassion; it demands accountability from doctors, institutions, and policymakers who rushed in without sufficient caution.

Some detransitioners have won court settlements, which proves that harm occurred and can be recognized legally in individual cases. Still, the bigger risk is political: if Democrats regain power at the federal or state level, legislation could be advanced to shield providers and parents from consequences. That would close off meaningful accountability and make it harder to protect future children from the same mistakes.

Meanwhile a generation faces losses that are hard to overstate: damaged health, compromised bodily integrity, altered sexual function, and lost fertility. Many will carry lifelong medical bills, chronic health issues including elevated cancer risks, psychiatric struggles tied to regret, and social rejection. Those outcomes are not theoretical—they show up every time a child undergoes irreversible treatments before maturity.

We should be clear-eyed about what policy and medicine must do next: refuse irreversible interventions for minors, rigorously investigate past cases, and make sure victims can seek redress. That does not mean shaming people who struggled or who are suffering now; it means rebuilding a system that prioritizes real care over ideology. The public deserves honest debate, evidence-based standards, and laws that protect children first and foremost.

We cannot let politics erase these stories or shelter those who pushed dangerous medical practices. The conversation must stay focused on protecting kids, documenting harm, and restoring common-sense safeguards in medicine and law. The stakes are too high to accept anything less.