Detransitioner sues APA, claims doctors pressured her to change gender when she sought depression treatment

Twenty-year-old Isabelle Ayala is suing her doctors along with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for pushing and conducting “gender-affirming medicalization” on her as a child.

The lawsuit read, “Plaintiff Isabelle M. Ayala (f.k.a. Giovanni Ayala) is an unfortunate victim of a collection of actors who prioritized politics and ideology over children’s safety, health, and well-being.”

The complaint followed that the AAP as well as seven doctors and 15 “John Does” were guilty of “civil conspiracy, fraud, medical malpractice, and other related causes of action in connection with their collective failure” to treat Ayala properly for her suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety.

At fourteen, Ayala was convinced by doctors to start testosterone and other hormone therapy to begin transitioning to a boy.

Ayala later made an unsuccessful suicide attempt after six months of treatment, alleging that the transitioning care continued regardless.

The procedure was likely motivated, according to the lawsuit, by the 2018 AAP policy statement that promoted guidance to help children receive “gender-affirming care.” 

In August, the AAP quietly reaffirmed the policy, though it acknowledged that a systematic review is necessary to assess the success of the treatments.

Despite this, the AAP kept the current policy in place.

“The board has confidence that the existing evidence is such that the current policy is appropriate,” Chief Executive Mark Del Monte argued. “At the same time, the board recognized that additional detail would be helpful here.”

The policy’s lead author Jason Rafferty is among the defendants.

Ayala is requesting “compensatory and punitive damages” as well as “attorney’s fees and costs, and such other relief as this Court deems meet and just.”

“Isabelle is now twenty years old and longs for what could have been and to have her healthy, female body back,” the lawsuit said. “The changes the testosterone has had on her body are a constant reminder that she needed an unbiased medical expert willing to evaluate her mental health and provide her the care she needed, rather than a group of ideologues set on promoting their own agenda and furthering a broader conspiracy at her expense.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the American Academy of Pediatrics for a comment but has yet to receive a response. 

Ayala’s lawsuit is the latest in a growing list of detransitioning young adults suing medical clinics, doctors, and other groups for “gross malpractice” in pushing experimental gender treatments.

However, Ayala is the first to target the AAP directly.