A dropout who had her breasts removed as a teenager claims doctors carried out the operation, even though they said she had thought about suicide that morning.
Laura Becker is one of the aspiring young women and girls undergoing a mastectomy – or “top surgery” – after being diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
The now 25-year-old from Wisconsin was referred for surgery at the age of 19, just seven months after receiving hormone-disrupting drugs to make her more masculine.
She told the surgeon hours before the procedure that she was suicidal and anxious, which, in hindsight, she says was “in part related to the irreversible change” she would go through.
Becker is now returning to being a woman, and her story is becoming an increasingly common cautionary tale.
Laura Becker (left) started testosterone treatments at the age of 19 to transition from female to male (pictured right). Doctors went ahead with her mastectomy despite her telling them she was suicidal
Studies indicate that the number of mastectomies in American children has increased 13-fold in the past decade.
Meanwhile, reports are pouring in from former patients who don’t feel challenged before surgery.
States are beginning to tighten procedures — four have enacted policies in recent months limiting children’s access to gender reassignment care and 15 are exploring similar laws.
Proponents of the surgeries argue that they are necessary to fulfill transgender children’s wishes and end their mental suffering, while critics claim the minors are too young to make irreversible decisions about their bodies.
Becker, now 25, said the surgery was her “biggest regret”. She began to revert to her original female gender
Becker told Fox News, “The day of the surgery, the surgeon called me and said, ‘How do you feel about it?’ and I’m sure I said something along the lines of, “You know, I’m not doing very well. I’m having suicidal thoughts. You know, a lot of anxiety,” stuff like that[s].
‘And actually [he asked], “Is it related to the operation?” And I said, “No, it has nothing to do with the operation.” So we continued. But in hindsight I see it was partly related to that.”
Becker, now 25, said the surgery was her “biggest regret”. She began to revert to her original female gender.
She added: “Parts of my body that I could never really appreciate, understand, respect or use… I will never be able to experience this intact female form.”
Luka Hein talks about how she underwent emergency surgery at a young age and the doctors did not take her poor mental state into account
Rates of gender dysphoria and puberty blockers prescription rates among under-18s have DOUBLE since 2017
American children have experienced an explosion of gender dysphoria, with cases more than doubling in the past year.
Luka Hein, another switcher, was prescribed hormone treatments to transition from a woman to a man at age 15 and was only 16 when her breasts were removed.
The Minnesotan was a young teenager when she became unsure of her true gender, but doctors believe they pushed her into surgery too quickly and ignored her mental health issues.
Hein said, “It was presented to both me and my parents as, ‘Your choice is to fix things or not.’ There really is no other choice. This is the route to take if you want to solve these things.”
Four years after the operation, she became a woman again.
Hein said: “I think thoroughly addressing some of the underlying issues would certainly have been a better place to start.
“When I saw that I was clearly … a teenager with mental health issues. At the time I was taking psychiatric drugs for depression and anxiety.’
Doctors should have taken into account that her emotional state meant she could not properly consent to treatment because of her gender, she said.
She added that the doctors could have told her: “Wait and see [approach] and first of all make sure you are healthy.”
Dr. Joseph Burgo, clinical psychologist and director of the Beyond Transition program at the non-profit Genspect, told Fox News, “So you might have suicidal thoughts. And when you announce that you’re trans, transition suddenly becomes the focus of treatment and dealing with all the other things that happened before just fade into the background.
“You see [this] the whole time. Everything goes out the window once you identify as trans.”
Dr. Burgo said he prefers to slow the transition process in children without examining their psychological well-being.
He said: “They often use that threat of suicide or self-harm as an argument to encourage transition.
“The argument is that if you don’t, it … fuels their stress and increases the likelihood of suicide.
But he said: “That’s not true. There is no evidence for this assumption. And if you look at the actual data, this cohort has a high rate of suicidal tendencies, starting before, during and after transition.
“There is no evidence that a gender-affirming transition actually reduces suicide.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
