Gender detransitioner sues prominent doctors she says pushed her into it

Detransitioner Layton Ulery is suing the Rhode Island doctors and health clinic responsible for giving her testosterone instead of the mental health counseling she needed, leaving her with permanent damage.

The lawsuit names several medical professionals, including Dr. Jason Rafferty, therapist Julie Lyons, and Dr. Michelle Forcier, as well as the Rhode Island treatment center Thundermist Health, according to the Daily Mail.

Despite her struggle with multiple personality disorder due to a history of severe childhood trauma at the hands of a cult affiliation, Ulery’s lawsuit alleges the medical professionals pushed her to transition.

It began in 2017 when Ulery sought help for her dissociative identify disorder from Lyons, a therapist and expert in the disorder. Before meeting Lyons, Ulery claims she did not consider herself transgender. 

During sessions, Lyons convinced Ulery she was a transgender man in need of further treatment. 

The lawsuit alleges Lyons crossed ethical boundaries during the sessions, including inviting her boyfriend to their sessions to perform “experimental hypnosis techniques” on Ulery.  

When Ulery couldn’t pay for continued treatment, Lyons provided free sessions to her in exchange for new patient recruitment, according to the lawsuit.

Ulery was then referred to Dr. Jason Rafferty, a leading transgender youth physician at Thundermist, who prescribed testosterone despite Ulery’s reluctance and concerns. 

“This unexplained, egregious departure in rationale demonstrates just how far Dr. Rafferty was willing to go to ignore such high risks caused by her psychological conditions,” the lawsuit states. 

When Ulery expressed concerns over the side effects of the testosterone, Rafferty reacted with “cold, disinterested apathy” and all support from the Thundermist team stopped. 

Notably, Rafferty is the lead author of a policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics on gender-affirming care. The policy statement “will serve as the basis for recommendations” specifically on children and youth that identify as “TGD” (transgender/gender diverse).  

“The goal is not treatment, but to listen to the child and build understanding – to create an environment of safety in which emotions, questions, and concerns can be explored,” Rafferty wrote in the policy.  

Then, Dr. Michelle Forcier, known for her views on infant gender identity, continued Ulery’s testosterone prescription despite Rafferty’s notes about her reluctance, the suit states. 

Forcier made headlines when she appeared in Matt Walsh’s documentary, “What is a Woman?” During her interview, the doctor claimed babies can choose their own gender identity and puberty blockers have no long-term effects.

“They’re (minors) worried about all kinds of masculine changes, and that way puberty blockers, which are completely reversible and don’t have permanent effects, are wonderful because we can put that pause on puberty,” Forcier said. “It’s as if you were listening to music, you put the pause on, and we stop the blockers, and puberty would go right back to where it was the next note in the song. It just delayed that period of time.”  

Eventually, Ulery realized her symptoms were not gender dysphoria, but body dysmorphia caused by numerous factors, including childhood trauma and unrealistic beauty standards.  

After receiving treatment from other providers, Ulery is reportedly now able to live a productive life. However, Ulery alleges in the suit that the damage from all the years of testosterone is already done.  

She further claims her mental health struggles were exacerbated by the forced transition, causing “irreversible and mentally and physically painful damages,” according to Daily Mail.  

She decided to sue her former practitioners after hearing other stories from other detransitioners who underwent the same pressure to transition at a young age.  

Just this week, another female detransitioner filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island Superior Court against Rafferty, Forcier and the American Academy of Pediatrics.  

Plaintiff Isabelle Ayala was 14 when the doctors placed her on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, with pressure to undergo experimental surgeries.  

The lawsuit states the defendants “misled Isabelle into believing that taking testosterone would resolve her mental health issues, particularly her depression and anxiety, and restore her overall health and well-being.” 

Ayala claims her mental health only worsened to the point of trying to commit suicide six months after first taking testosterone. Now 20, Ayala suffers from permanent physical ailments, her suit claims. 

“Isabelle has suffered from vaginal atrophy from the extensive use of testosterone; she deals with excess facial and body hair; she struggles with compromised bone structure; she is unsure whether her fertility has been irreversibly compromised; she still has mental health issues and deals with episodes of anxiety and depression, further compounded by a sense of regret; and she has since contracted an autoimmune disease that only the males in her family have a history of,” the lawsuit states. 

The lawsuit alleges both Dr. Rafferty, Dr. Forcier have worked at pediatric gender clinics that prescribe puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to patients as young as 10.  

“Isabelle is but one of an unknown but apparently growing number of children and adolescents who have been unknowingly victims of a conspiracy entered into the perpetuated to the present day of certain ideologically captured individuals in positions of power at the AAP,” the lawsuit claims.