UW gave gender-transition surgeries without proper consent: lawsuit
A woman whose uterus was removed after allegedly self-diagnosing herself with gender dysphoria is suing two Wisconsin surgeons for allegedly not obtaining her proper consent.
A woman who allegedly self-diagnosed herself as having gender dysphoria as a teenager is suing two Wisconsin surgeons who removed her uterus and breasts, saying they did the procedures without her proper consent.
Jay Lick and Katherine Gast, as well as UW Hospital were named in the suit in Dane County Circuit Court, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Lick reportedly removed the now-23-year-old woman’s uterus when she was 19, while Gast performed her double mastectomy when she was 21. Both surgeries were considered gender-affirming procedures, according to the suit.
The lawsuit argues the woman self-diagnosed herself as having gender dysphoria in her late teens, but that doctors did not independently diagnose her, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The suit alleges the doctors carried out malpractice and failed to obtain informed consent, discrimination under the Affordable Care Act, hospital negligence, and the denial of benefits and care that would have been provided to a "non-transgender woman," according to the suit.
The woman, who now lives in Chicago, said she previously identified as lesbian and then nonbinary to "cleanse her of the severe psychological distress and trauma that she endured as a child," according to the suit.
The patient allegedly had a "series of traumatizing events within her childhood home, including being sexually abused." She eventually fled the home and was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the report.
She stopped taking testosterone in the last year and began the process to "detransition" after determining that her childhood trauma sparked mental distress, not her biological sex, the outlet reported.
She’s now mourning "that she will never be able to naturally conceive a large family, as expected in her culture," the lawsuit states, explaining the woman is Jewish.
"UW Health and its providers care deeply for the health and well-being of patients and work hard every day to ensure patients receive the best possible care," hospital spokesperson Sara Benzel told the Wisconsin State Journal. The spokesperson did not elaborate on the case or how informed consent is obtained at the hospital, according to the outlet.
The woman’s attorney, Daniel Cragg of Eckland & Blando in Minneapolis, said his office is representing the woman to rectify the alleged personal injury matter, not for PR purposes.
"We’re not doing this as a (public relations) maneuver like a lot of the destransitioner cases are," Cragg told the Wisconsin State Journal. "This is a straight personal injury (medical-malpractice) case."
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Wisconsin’s Senate last month approved a bill that would ban sex-reassignment surgeries for minors, though Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he will veto the measure.
Fox News Digital reached out to UW Hospital and the woman's attorney Sunday morning for additional comment on the matter.
