WATCH: Detransitioner gets a second chance at medical malpractice lawsuit against doctors

By Carleen Johnson
The Center Square

A young woman whose detransition story has been one of the most widely covered in the nation will soon learn if a judge in North Carolina will reinstate her medical malpractice and negligence claims against the medical professionals who took part in her gender transition, starting when she was a teenager.

The lawsuit, if allowed to proceed, is poised to set national precedent.

Washington state, for example, continues to protect and allow access to what proponents call gender-affirming care for both youth and adults. This is bolstered by state laws like the Gender-Affirming Treatment Act, which prohibits insurance discrimination, and the state’s “shield law,” which protects people from legal action in other states. The state also provides gender-affirming care through its Medicaid program, Apple Health, and private insurance plans.

Critics argue that gender-affirming care is nothing of the sort, that it isn’t actually “affirming” and may be harmful, particularly for minors. They raise concerns about the irreversibility of some procedures and the idea that some children diagnosed with gender dysphoria may not persist in identifying as transgender in the long term.

Following an episode of self-harm, a pediatrician was recommended to help teenager Prisha Mosley address her eating disorder. After a brief consultation, the pediatrician concluded that Prisha was actually a boy and recommended a therapist specializing in transgender care.

Beth Parlato is the senior legal advisor at the Independent Women’s Law Center.

“She [Parlato] suffers from, what she will tell you, is mental health issues and depression and anxiety,” Parlato told The Center Square on Thursday. “Her parents were alcoholics, and in her school, they got her right into ‘Well, you’re in the wrong body and we can help you.’ And of course, at a young age, she was not only taking cross-sex hormones, but has her healthy breasts cut off and everything else.”

Parlato explained that Mosley’s mental health issues worsened after transitioning, and she regretted every procedure. She now says those interventions destroyed her healthy female body and left lasting physical and emotional scars.

“She realized that none of that helped her,” she said. “It actually made everything worse.”

A lawsuit was filed on Mosley’s behalf in 2023, but the claims of negligence and malpractice were thrown out, leaving only a fraud claim to proceed.

The North Carolina court dismissed the case because it fell outside the four-year statute of limitations, which sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit.

Parlato explained that North Carolina’s House Bill 805, which passed the Legislature earlier this year, extends the statute of limitations on medical malpractice for gender transitions to 10 years.

“It got to the governor’s desk a couple of weeks ago, and the governor vetoed it,” she said. “So, the Legislature reconvened and overrode the governor’s veto, which was amazing.”

Mosley’s case went back to court on Aug. 15, where a judge heard from her attorneys and defense attorneys for each of the eight named defendants in the case, including the doctors who performed surgeries on Mosley.

“What is the judge going to do? How is he going to interpret that new legislation? Is it for any cases filed after the new law is in effect, or can it be cases that are still pending?” Parlato asked. “We are hopeful that the judge is going to do the right thing.”

Parlato, who was in the courtroom last week, said the judge told everyone in attendance he is retiring at the end of the month.

“So, he told the court and everybody in the courtroom, he will have his decision by then,” she said. “So, we’re expecting a decision by the end of the month. He had all kinds of documents submitted to him, and he’s got to sift through it all and then make his decision. And he said he would.”

Parlato believes the case has potential national repercussions at a time when the Trump administration is attempting to block federal funding to states performing gender transition surgeries on minors, and several states have legislation pending on the matter.

“This could be a great precedent for other states, and we have to just be hopeful that the judge does the right thing,” she said.