Compelling Testimony from Mutilated Children

August 3, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

by Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter

Minor surgery is a major issue

On the heels of Congress’s month-long recess, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government held a hearing titled “The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care.’”

Republicans invited witnesses with personal experiences, mental health expertise, and legal knowledge of this atrocious agenda. They included detransitioner Chloe Cole (who will join us for Eagle Council 51), former collegian swimmer Paula Scanlon, Director of the Center of Family Studies at Family Research Council Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, and senior legal fellow at Independent Women’s Law Center May Mailman.

Democrat witnesses included the Legal Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights Dr. Shannon Minter and a mother of a transgender child, Myriam Reynolds. Dr. Minter, a biological woman who transitioned to a man hardly spoke on personal experience but instead opined on what theoretically happens during the process in which a child begins transitioning.

Chloe Cole’s testimony as someone who was coerced into transitioning as a young teenager was painful and hard-hitting. Before ending her speech with a plea to stop these surgeries on minors, she shared her personal story:

When I was thirteen, I had my first testosterone injection. My voice will forever be deeper. My jawline sharper. My nose longer. My bone structure permanently masculinized. My adams apple more prominent. My fertility unknown. I look in the mirror sometimes and I feel like a monster. I had a double mastectomy at fifteen… I was perfectly healthy. There was nothing wrong with my still-developing body or my breasts other than that of an insecure teenage girl.

…Everything that I went through did nothing to address the underlying mental health issues that I had.

Following Chloe’s testimony, former University of Pittsburgh swimmer Paula Scanlon discussed not only the unfairness of competing against biological male swimmer Lia Thomas but also described the trauma she endured by being forced to change in a locker room with him. She stated:

As a sexual assault survivor, many policies pushed today completely ignore my experiences and many women like me. I ask the members of this committee, please consider this issue outside the lens of political affiliations and understand the true impact of ignoring the realities of womanhood. Future generations depend on us.

Committee members from both sides of the aisle asked questions of the six witnesses.  Republicans focused on the need to protect children and preserve parental rights while Democrats advocated for the rights of children to define their own existence.

Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) made an especially memorable point.  As began to speak, his staff revealed a poster of a food pyramid. Instead of the typical foods we see on the food pyramid such as grains, proteins, etc., each category had pictures of ice cream. He explained that this image was an illustration of what his two young daughters, ages four and two, want for every meal. His comments were logical and pointed:

If my children had their way, they would have ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… In the same country, we know that children aren’t mature enough to make their own decisions that impact the rest of their lives. That’s why we have parents… as parents we have the wisdom to know that ice cream is not in their best interest, particularly their long-term interest.

 …I’m a combat veteran. I fought for your right as an adult to make your own decisions, but in my opinion, children are a different story. It is our obligation to protect them.

Eagle Forum’s President Kris Ullman and Executive Director Tabitha Walter were honored to be invited to attend the hearing yet disgusted with House Democrats for bowing to the extremism of transgender ideology. You can watch the full hearing here.

Republicans are attempting to address this problem from several angles. The House has passed the Parents Bill of Rights (H.R. 5) and Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 734).

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has recently introduced a bill that protects taxpayers from funding genital mutilation. The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3887) has an unassuming name, but actually cuts off federal funding to hospitals that perform so-called “gender-affirming care” to minors. We are encouraging the House to include his bill, along with additional language preventing doctors from transitioning children, in the upcoming House appropriations package in September.