Clementine Breen, a 20-year-old woman, has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, alleging medical negligence and coercion that led to irreversible gender transition treatments during her adolescence.
Breen’s suit claims that she was rushed into taking puberty blockers at age 12, testosterone therapy at 13, and undergoing a double mastectomy at 14 without proper psychological evaluation or consideration of long-term consequences.
According to court documents and a report by The Economist, Dr. Olson-Kennedy, who is the medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, allegedly misrepresented Breen’s mental health to her parents, claiming she was suicidal to push for cross-sex hormone treatment.
The lawsuit asserts that Breen was not suicidal and had no documented history of suicidal thoughts. Notes from Olson-Kennedy’s clinic reportedly described Breen’s mental state at the time as “alert,” “cooperative,” and “smiling.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Olson-Kennedy provided misleading information to a surgeon regarding Breen’s gender identity history, falsely claiming that Breen had expressed a consistent male identity since childhood, contradicting her own notes that Breen had only begun questioning her identity months prior.
Dr. Olson-Kennedy has previously faced criticism for her role in a taxpayer-funded study that purportedly failed to show improved mental health outcomes from puberty blockers but was never published.
Breen’s case raises broader concerns about the ethics and oversight of administering irreversible medical treatments to minors, especially in cases involving gender transition.
