A ‘de-transitioner’ law firm in Texas now represents a Spokane woman who regrets her sex change, alleging medical malpractice

A Spokane woman is using a Texas-based “detransitioner” law firm to sue local medical offices for malpractice following regrets of transitioning to a man.

Campbell Miller Payne PLLC has stepped in to represent 40-year-old Darlene Skane, who underwent multiple gender-affirming care procedures in 2022 after deciding she was experiencing gender dysphoria, a sense of psychological distress where someone’s sex doesn’t match their identity.

Her lawsuit alleges she should have never undergone these procedures due to an extensive history of childhood trauma and mental illness, which led her to believe a gender transition was a solution to her problems. She was not given accurate behavioral analyses, evaluations or informed consent before the surgeries, the lawsuit states.

“Common things that pop up in Darlene’s story, a true lack of giving necessary information. Oftentimes, there is no alternative treatment proposed. Then, there is a general rush toward medicalization and premature diagnosis without mental health evaluations,” said Jordan Campbell, one of the attorneys working on Skane’s case. Campbell is also listed as a contributor to the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian organization.

Doctors removed her uterus, cervix, ovaries and breasts. A short time later, Skane decided she was interested in transitioning back to female because she was still experiencing mental anguish from childhood trauma and pain from the surgery, according to the lawsuit.

Skane is suing Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and Idaho, Stiller Aesthetics and Kaiser Permanente, an insurance company. Planned Parenthood said via email that they do not respond to requests about patient information, citing HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Stiller Aesthetics did not respond to a request for comment. Kaiser wrote in an email that they offer “compassionate, medically necessary care” and that they take time to explain all available options with the patient but would not comment further because of the pending litigation.

Skane’s other attorney, who works for the same firm and signed on to her lawsuit, is Daniel Sepulveda, a former punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Skane found Campbell and Sepulveda after being referred from another attorney.

“These cases are what our firm does. That’s our specialty. We are known by other firms,” Campbell said.

The Texas-based firm was founded in 2023 after Campbell and other founders read news articles touching on those who regret their gender transitions, and it “sent me to research further,” he said.

“When I researched more, I saw that this is potentially a group of folks that need people to speak up for them.”

Campbell’s firm has filed 13 lawsuits alleging myriad claims against medical professionals who have helped those with gender dysphoria transition. Gender-affirming care, which encompasses a wide range of things like puberty blockers or hormone pills, is offered to people younger than 18 in some states like Washington. Gender-affirming surgery for those under 18, like breast augmentation or a mastectomy, is typically not offered unless there is a well-documented and medically necessary exception.

Campbell’s expert, Erica Anderson, is a trans woman and psychologist who has been outspoken against states banning gender-affirming care, but is also quoted in the New York Post as saying gender-affirming care has gone “too far” and is worried teens are partaking because it’s “trendy.” Anderson is also an expert witness for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious firm that has been at the center of many national Supreme Court cases centering on gender-affirming care and abortion. The Alliance Defending Freedom has also provided legal support and resources to the plaintiffs in the landmark case that overturned Roe v. Wade.

A 2024 Harvard study found that little to no gender-affirming surgeries were being performed on minors in the U.S. It also found that cisgender minors and adults used gender-affirming care for other reasons more often than their transgender counterparts.

Regardless, lawsuits on behalf of detransitioners are part of an ever-growing trend in the past few years as a conservative talking point to ban gender-affirming care altogether. President Donald Trump has also spoken publicly about the matter, claiming gender-affirming care for trans youth is “sexual mutilation.”

As of this year, 588 bills impacting LGBTQ+ people have been introduced in state legislatures across the country, according to data from the ACLU. Last year, Idaho’s governor signed a bill into law that criminalizes health care providers for offering hormones or puberty blockers to people younger than 18.

Campbell maintains that Skane’s experience is not a political talking point.

“Our clients span the political spectrum. We are just a law firm that specializes in representing a sort of niche practice,” he said. “Politics have been injected into this but has nothing to do with our clients.”

Campbell says the research he would most use to support his firm’s advocacy is the newly released federal Department of Health and Human Services review that highlights “lack of evidence” for support of gender-affirming care and claims little benefit. But the review doesn’t cite contributors, and it was released within a few months of Trump’s inauguration, whereas other reviews involving trans youth and adults have required years of research.

The American Academy of Pediatrics also said in a statement it was “deeply alarmed” by HHS’s review.

“For such an analysis to carry credibility, it must consider the totality of available data and the full spectrum of clinical outcomes rather than relying on select perspectives and a narrow set of data,” the statement says. “This report misrepresents the current medical consensus and fails to reflect the realities of pediatric care.”

According to Skane’s lawsuit, her life was filled with depression, abuse, drug use and suicide attempts. Her husband was abusive and abusing her daughter, according to the lawsuit. She left and met another man, who became the father to her third child, but her children were later taken away from her following a custody fight. It led her to fall into a deep depression, according to the suit.

Under the “backdrop” of the trauma, Skane sought anything to seek relief, the lawsuit states. That’s when she came across information about gender transitions.

She made an appointment at Planned Parenthood and declared she was ready for top and bottom surgery. She also mentioned her previous suicide attempts and her custody battle, and said she was a “vulnerable adult” in the state of Washington. The state defines a vulnerable adult as someone who is unable to care for themselves, cannot represent themselves in court and lacks capacity for consent. The lawsuit claims Skane has consistently demonstrated clear mental unfitness throughout her doctor’s visits, but that it was never taken into account.

Planned Parenthood, required to provide an extensive mental health evaluation before any offerings of gender affirming care, offered her testosterone after its evaluation, the suit alleges. The lawsuit claims it did not accurately inform Skane of the risks and did not take into account her bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression when evaluating her. It also appears to claim the doctors handling her care inaccurately filled out their medical reports.

After seven months of being on testosterone with some side effects like itchiness and acne, Skane was referred by Planned Parenthood to another doctor that removed her cervix, uterus, ovaries and breasts, according to the lawsuit. She eventually came back and wanted to transition back to a woman, but her requests and concerns were dismissed, the lawsuit claims, and her chronic pelvic pain continues to this day.

The lawsuit lists medical negligence, vicarious liability, corporate negligence, failure to obtain informed consent and abuse of a vulnerable adult as reasons for filing, and asks for any relief the court deems proper.

“(Skane) was incapable of understanding, evaluating, or appreciating the actions she was taking, and yet, the Malpractice Defendants in each case recklessly treated her as if she could,” the lawsuit states. “And even if she could have understood, evaluated or appreciated the treatment plan being presented to her, they failed to give her the information she needed to provide informed consent.”

While Campbell and his firm have filed only 13 lawsuits on behalf of their clients, he said he’s spoken to more than 150 people who want to detransition. The notion that very few people tend to regret their transition is a premise he would “push back on” a bit, he said.

Transgender people have received care for decades, but research has remained sparse until about 10 years ago, according to an article published by the National Library of Medicine. The study highlights rates of regret within the trans community and assesses those who have detransitioned.

According to the report, 8% of more than 27,700 adults have detransitioned temporarily or permanently at some point, and the majority did so “only temporarily.” The most common reasons for detransitioning were too much harassment or discrimination, pressure from a parent, trouble getting a job or that transitioning was too difficult.

A separate JAMA study that lasted 10 years and surveyed 220 youths who had accessed puberty blockers or hormones revealed high levels of satisfaction and low levels of regret, with 97% continuing to access gender-affirming care.

Dr. Jack Turban, pediatric psychiatrist and author of “Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity,” wrote in an email that regret is not unique to gender-affirming interventions, even though those are rare. Any time someone is considering a medical intervention, they have to weigh the risks, Turban said. In comparison, Johns Hopkins Medicine found that 6% of all men who get vasectomies will opt for a reversal.

“Medicine is a field of probabilities, not certainties. All medical interventions require balancing potential benefits against potential risks,” Turban said. “Gender is a topic that brings up intense emotions, and sadly this type of medical care has been hotly politicized, which has made matters worse.”

When it comes to trauma, there isn’t any “solid” research to suggest it can cause someone to become transgender, Turban said.

“Some individuals have reported that they feel this is their personal experience. It is difficult to know if this is truly the case or if this idea was forced on them, as was the case in ex-gay movements of the past. Due to this uncertainty, we screen for this possibility when adolescents are considering gender-affirming medical interventions,” Turban wrote.

Campbell said in his cases, he often sees people with extensive childhood trauma wanting to transition.

“Almost always usually significant past childhood traumas is part of our clients story and those we have talked to, trauma is universally a part of their story,” Campbell told The Spokesman-Review . “If you listen to our clients’ and hear what’s been done, there’s nothing controversial about it. Their stories are heartbreaking.”

As of Thursday, no defendants have submitted a response to the lawsuit in Spokane County Court.