A Florida woman who medically transitioned from female to male as a 14-year-old is suing the American Academy of Pediatrics — alleging she was whisked through the process as a minor by “a collection of actors who prioritized politics and ideology over children’s safety, health, and well-being.”
Isabelle Ayala, now 20, is also suing her doctors in Rhode Island in a first of its kind case, filed in Providence/Bristol County Superior Court.
Ayala says she was sexually assaulted as a child and began precocious puberty at age 8 — both experiences she says made her resent her femininity and believe she was better off male.
At 11, she found solace in the transgender activist community on Tumblr, and thought, “This is going to fix me.”
She learned from trans activists that fabricating suicidal ideation is a surefire way to get a testosterone prescription quickly. So, at age 14 she did just that: “I learned that from the internet that… I had to convince [my doctors and family] that if they don’t affirm me, I’m gonna kill myself.”
Ayala said she was referred to a gender clinic and diagnosed with gender dysphoria by transgender health expert Dr. Jason Rafferty. According to the lawsuit, he determined she “would benefit from being put on cross-sex hormones” in a single visit that lasted less than an hour.
Less than a year into treatment, Ayala said, she actually did attempt suicide.
By age 17, in 2020, Ayala felt the urge to begin presenting femininely again. A YouTuber who had detransitioned inspired her to identify as a woman again — and she soon realized her transition had been a massive mistake.
Three years on, according to the lawsuit, she still struggles with unwanted body hair, vaginal atrophy and an altered bone structure from the testosterone.
“She has since contracted Hashimotos’s disease, an autoimmune disease that only the males in her family have a history of, from taking testosterone,” the suit claims.
Ayala filed her lawsuit in October, naming seven doctors and 15 John Does she accuses of “civil conspiracy, fraud and medical malpractice.” Among the physicians named is Dr. Jason Rafferty, the doctor who she alleges prescribed her testosterone on her first visit.