Jury Finds Doctors Liable for Malpractice in Gender Surgery Lawsuit

And joining me now to discuss the landmark trial and the implications of the ruling is Epoch Times reporter Stacey Robinson, who's been following this case very closely. Stacey Robinson, thank you so much for joining us. Stacey, you've had some incredible reporting. It's actually gone viral now. Elon Musk has tweeted it. Don Jr. has posted it and pinned it. 13 million views and counting. It really all centers around a case that you've been following. You were actually there for much of the trial in New York where a detransitioner, her name is Fox Barian, just awarded two million dollars. She was suing her psychologist and surgeon for malpractice, essentially having her breasts removed as a minor, you know, only 16 years old. You were there in the courthouse watching this all play out. Talk to us about some of the most critical moments and what you think ultimately sealed the deal for the jury. So the first thing you need to know about this case is that you have to, in order to understand the jury's reasoning, you have to think about it from the perspective of people who are in favor of allowing these procedures for minors. And what this case turns on is not whether you should do these things to minors, but whether they took the appropriate steps before going forward with the surgery. And the jury found that they did not because they hadn't fully addressed the underlying issues, her mental issues, a whole host of problems, anorexia, major depression, and they sort of rushed into it, I think is how the jury would respond to that. I think what really sealed the deal, aside from all of those legal questions, was the testimony of the mother, Claire Deacon, who said that the psychologist, Dr. Kenneth Einhorn, pressured her by highlighting that her daughter was at risk for suicide. And the daughter did say often that she felt like taking her own life. I think she sort of clarified later that it was more that she didn't want to live anymore. But there was a very poignant moment in the trial when the mother was on the stand and Sabrina Sellers, one of the defense attorneys, was cross-examining her, asking about the question of suicide, how long was she suicidal. And she had mentioned that this must be very difficult to live and think I might come home any day and find that my daughter has harmed herself. And so she's asking her questions, and she's also weeping at the same time while she's questioning it. This is the defense attorney for the doctors? Yes. That's incredible. Yeah, it was. And then the plaintiff attorney, I guess, mistook what was happening, and he accused her of laughing. He said, I want to know why she thinks this is so funny. And so, of course, Ms. Sellers got angry and said, I wasn't laughing, I was actually crying. The judge confirmed that she was crying, cleared the courtroom, and then rebuked the plaintiff attorney and said, don't try to control my court. Wow, that's a powerful moment. So talk to us, Stacy, if you could, since your reporting came out, since the verdict came out, what are the implications of this case and how consequential do you think it might be? Incredibly consequential, more than I could have imagined. I mean, the verdict came out on Friday, and we reported on it. And like you said, it went viral. Other reporting has followed. And yesterday, we learned that the American Medical Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have both said that they will no longer endorse these procedures for children. It couldn't be bigger. Wow. I mean, just so people know, the American Medical Association, that's the AMA. That's a giant. That's amazing. And in the past, people have cited the AMA's endorsement. You know, you'd often hear, well, the AMA and other groups endorse these procedures in minors. So who do you think you are to stand up against that? Well, that's no longer the case. That's no longer the case. And then it will also, it may have ripple effects as far as insurance companies no longer wanting to provide malpractice insurance for doctors who perform these procedures. The doctors themselves may be more reticent to do this sort of thing in the future. Huge ripple effects, more than I would have imagined. Would you say that there are a lot of doctors who have, you know, participated in similar procedures that are exposed right now and perhaps not feeling so comfortable? Well, I mean, that would be pure speculation on my part, but I imagine that there, I spoke to legal experts about this question, you know, does this set a precedent? And they said it does not set a binding precedent, but it sets a precedent in the fact that if this case can be won in New York, in a place that I believe the figure was something like almost 63% Democrat, if it can be won in a jurisdiction like that, then what's going to happen if it comes to somewhere like Nebraska, Iowa, you know, red state, what's going to happen then? Yeah, amazing. So this procedure that was done to Ms. Varian was irreversible? Yeah, I mean, she could have reconstructive surgery. I think currently she said she doesn't, she's not, she doesn't want it yet, but she could have reconstructive surgery, but she'll never be able to breastfeed. Never be able to breastfeed if she decides to have children. She said she has searing hot white pain across her chest because of the nerve damage. So yeah. What would you say were some of the most serious departures from the typical standard of care that perhaps stuck out to the jurors? That's hard to say, as far as the jurors themselves, because they didn't want to speak to media. Understandably, it was a long trial. It was exhausting. But to me, I thought that, I thought that it was Dr. Einhorn pushing a little too hard for the surgery. And I believe the plaintiff attorney made the tacit approval the whole time. But then that's tricky because if you look at groups that endorse these kinds of procedures, they say you're supposed to go along with whatever the patient wants. And that came up in the trial. And so it was sort of difficult. But there was a moment where Einhorn admitted on the stand that Varian's father had called him to oppose it. They were estranged. He hadn't seen her until the trial, actually, nine years. But he called her to oppose it. And at one point during that conversation, which the man recorded, Einhorn said, if you don't, if you don't endorse this, you'll never see your daughter again. I mean, that's pressure. Epoch Times reporter Stacy Robinson, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks again.