PFLAG, parents of 9-year-old 'trans child' sue North Carolina to allow child sex changes

A 9-year-old North Carolina child who claims to be transgender has launched a lawsuit against her home state over the statewide ban on medical sex changes for minors. Voe, being just 9-years-old, is the face of the case, which was brought by Voe's parents Vanessa and Vance Voe, Riley Smith MD, PFLAG Inc., the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality. The parents are bringing the suit under pseudonyms for "safety and privacy."

The suit claims that "with his puberty approaching, Victor will soon need medical care that is prohibited by the Health Care Ban."

PFLAG has been behind a number of cases across the US that take up the cause of a so-called trans child and use them and their parents to launch suits against states that enact laws to protect children from harmful, growth-stunting drugs like puberty blockers, and drugs that can lead to sterility, such as cross-sex hormones. Many states have also prohibited surgeries for the purpose of changing the appearance of children in service to the lie that they can change sex. PFLAG has sued Missouri and Texas, while the ACLU has taken up similar suits in other states.

PFLAG and Voe's parents have filed the lawsuit, claiming that the ban is unconstitutional because these drugs and surgeries are only banned for minors who claim to be trans. The suit further states that "While the Ban’s sponsors contend that it is necessary to protect minors from supposedly 'experimental' treatments, decades of clinical experience and research have shown that gender-affirming health care is safe and effective, and that it improves the health and well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria."

Medical experts who tout the procedures for minors do so because they say that altering the appearance of a minor to conform to opposite sex stereotypes at a young age will make it easier for them to "pass" as the opposite sex when they become an adult. This is because the secondary sex characteristics of their natal sex will not have been able to develop, which is a direct result of the drug regimine used to transform the appearance of children from one sex to another. 

The lawsuit addresses the potential side-effects of the drugs and surgeries, saying that "transgender adolescents" who seek these medical services will have "been informed of the effects and side effects of treatment (including potential loss of fertility if the individual subsequently continues with sex hormone treatment) and options to preserve fertility," and will have "given informed consent, and (particularly when the adolescent has not reached the age of legal medical consent, depending on applicable law) the parents or other caretakers or guardians have consented to the treatment and are involved in supporting the adolescent throughout the treatment process.

The child at the center of this lawsuit is 9-years-old. 

The suit noted that "Gender-affirming hormone therapy does not necessarily result in a loss of fertility, and many individuals treated with hormone therapy can still conceive and produce children." The suit states further that much of the reason for underoing these medical treatments at a young age is to make sure the child, once grown, can pass as the opposite sex more fully.

"Adolescents who first receive treatment later in puberty and are treated only with gender-affirming hormone therapy (and not puberty-delaying treatment) also go through a hormonal puberty consistent with their gender identity. However, they will have undergone physical changes associated with their endogenous puberty that may not be wholly reversed by hormone therapy or even surgery later in life," the suit reads.

PFLAG, Voe's parents, and her doctor hav filed the lawsuit on behalf of the child, alleging that these medical services are essential and critical. Unless the ban is lifted, Voe would not be subject to these procedures until coming of age at 18-years-old and making the decisions for herself. With the ban in place, doctors are unable to give the girl puberty blockers, testosterone, or remove her breasts.

"Victor is transgender," the suit reads, referring to the girl as a boy throughout. "He knew from a very young age that his gender identity did not match his sex assigned at birth, and he generally lives as the boy he is in every aspect of life. However, with his puberty approaching, Victor will soon need medical care that is prohibited by the Health Care Ban."

In August, North Carolina joined at least 22 other states to enact a ban on child sex changes. The state law bans medical professionals from providing hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs and surgical gender-transition procedures to anyone under 18, with limited exceptions, according to Newsweek. The bill was vetoed by the governor, but that veto was overriden by the people's representatives in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Multiple detransitioned youth such as Prisha Mosley, Chloe Cole, and Luka Hein are suing medical doctors and other affiliated entities for prescribing and performing sex change procedures on them. They would like to see a nationwide sex change ban for minors. These women contend that they were not able to consent to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and double mastectomies, all of which they endured before they were 18-years-old.