A teenager who transitioned from female to male now regrets the procedure and is suing the surgeon and hospital for 11 million shekels (about $3 million), alleging they performed the operation without assessing her mental state.
“I was sexually assaulted and suicidal. I couldn’t make that decision. The damage is irreversible,” she told Ynet. The defendants deny the claims, saying, “There was no wrongdoing."
The case, filed by attorney Oren Bushari, who specializes in medical malpractice, is seen as a potential legal precedent.
According to the lawsuit, about three years after the plaintiff, then in her teens, underwent gender reassignment surgery to become male, she is now suing the surgeon who operated on her and the hospital where it was performed.
She claims the procedure was done without evaluating her mental condition, which was suicidal after a sexual assault, despite the Health Ministry’s requirement for a psychological suitability assessment before such operations.
Although she regrets the surgery, the procedure caused her irreversible damage that prevents her from physically returning to her previous gender status, and now she is required to invest significant financial resources in it.
The filing describes how, in her teens, the plaintiff suffered a mental health crisis after a sharp weight gain “with a pattern of bulimia and multiple daily vomiting.”
It also states she endured sexual harassment, which led her to adopt an androgynous dress style.
About two months before turning 17, she asked people around her to refer to her as male, which “gave her a sense of security and empowerment." The lawsuit adds that “at age 17 she was violently raped and later attempted suicide."
Following the events described, the teen began medical reassignment procedures. She turned to a surgeon specializing in the field to have her breasts removed.
The surgeon, according to the lawsuit, recommended a letter from a psychologist and preliminary hormone therapy. “The surgery was performed at a medical center the day before her 18th birthday without the required approvals,” the filing states.
At the same time, she began receiving hormone therapy at a hospital, based on a psychologist’s letter and her parents’ approval.
The lawsuit alleges that the clinic, the hospital and the surgeon committed medical malpractice because “the Health Ministry conditioned these treatments on a series of requirements that none of the defendants met.”
She is being supported in the case by Michael Puah, chair of the Bocharim BaMishpacha (Choosing Family) organization.
The lawsuit cites 2014 Health Ministry regulations that set new procedures for gender affirmation, which it says were ignored.
It states, for example, that the ministry’s “Gender Reassignment Committee” must approve applications and conduct an assessment of the patient’s physical and mental suitability, as well as monitor the patient during the process.
In addition, to ensure informed consent, the committee must receive referrals from a clinical psychologist and a psychiatric assessment.
The defendants deny the allegations, saying they acted in accordance with the rules and that the regulation cited by the lawsuit applies to genital surgery, not breast removal or hormone therapy.
“I’m left with damage I suffer from every day, all day,” the plaintiff told Ynet and its sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth. “I’ll never get my body back. I can’t even look close to a woman, and everything requires huge maintenance. Everything changed. I live pretending to be normal, busy hiding, feeling like a circus freak. I don’t think a teenager can make a decision to undergo such treatments."
She said she began the process “from a very vulnerable place of suicidal tendencies, eating disorders and sexual assault. Nobody bothered to check that, not even a minimal background check on my mental state. I wasn’t fit to make that decision. I also messed up, but there’s a limit to the responsibility you can place on a minor in such a mental state.
They encouraged my parents and misled them into believing that turning me into a man would solve my mental state, and they wanted the best for me. They said that only 1 percent regret it, and that’s not true; it’s dozens of percent. I filed the lawsuit not just for myself but to fix the system and protect others."
The medical center where the surgery was performed said in response: “A preliminary review found no flaw in the center’s conduct. We will respond formally as part of the statement of defense."
The medical center where the hormone treatments were administered said that the plaintiff came to the medical center for complementary treatment after undergoing surgery elsewhere. She was given dedicated care in line with the center's high standards.
The surgeon’s representative claimed that he is "an experienced physician who has worked in the field for many years. He is familiar with the Health Ministry’s guidelines and acts accordingly.
"The surgeon received letters of thanks and appreciation for the surgery in question. We suspect the motives behind the lawsuit and the involvement of outside parties who are using the plaintiff to advance their own goals."
The Health Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.