by Liz Collin
While European nations hit pause on puberty blockers and surgical measures for children, Minnesota Democrats are pushing health plans to cover so-called “gender-affirming care.”
A detransitioner from Oregon recently testified in front of Minnesota lawmakers after she says she was given the green light for top surgery over a Zoom call.
Camille Kiefel joined Liz Collin Reports to warn others about what she went through. She admits it was a mental health issue that her doctors apparently failed to recognize.
“I was introduced to the idea of being non-binary and that was appealing to me because it was this idea of being able to opt out of gender,” said Kiefel, who was introduced to gender ideology in college.
“And I think it’s appealing to a lot of girls who are afraid of how they’re potentially going to be treated by men or have histories of sexual violence,” she explained.
“I was told my whole life, ‘it’s your fault’ and I was just struggling with mental disabilities. And then here is this idea of women’s studies where it wasn’t my fault for once. So that can be very appealing to somebody who’s not having a lot of success and not actually getting to where they need to be. It’s this idea that it’s, you know, it’s almost like it’s not your fault.”
It was just a few years ago Kiefel decided to have a double mastectomy.
“It was very easy to get approval,” Kiefel recalled. “I got my first letter in June, my second letter in July, and the surgery was performed on me Aug. 27, 2020. So, within months, the surgery was approved and performed on me. So, it was a very quick turnaround and we were seeing that in some of these states like Oregon.”
Kiefel says she regretted her decision a year and a half later.
“That’s what we’re seeing with a lot of detransitioners. It can take up to 10 years for them to realize that this was not the right answer for them. Then, some of them are just waking up after the surgery realizing that this wasn’t right. There’s a huge variance in detransitioners and how much this happens,” she said.
Kiefel testified in St. Paul last week to represent people like her. Democrats have introduced a bill that would push health care providers to pay for gender transitions, but she would like to see the bill amended to cover care for detransitioners.
Detransitioner Camille Kiefel, president of Detrans Help, tells Minnesota legislators that "many people who want to detransition can't because their insurance won't cover it … detransitioner needs have been ignored and silenced." pic.twitter.com/BEIZAgkSle
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) March 20, 2024
“Everybody should have access to medical care,” she said.
Kiefel now runs Detrans Help to assist others in similar situations.
“I think that there is a shift happening. They can’t hold that up forever because it is going to come through that the detransitioners are being ignored. We are being silenced and our needs, medical needs, really aren’t being addressed.
“This is something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life,” she said. “And I sought this out because I was struggling, and we need better ways to deal with mental health issues. And we need to look at underlying health issues as well.”
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Liz Collin has been a truth-teller for 20 years as a multi-Emmy-Award-winning reporter and anchor. Liz is a Worthington, Minnesota native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, son and loyal lab.
Photo “Camille Kiefel” by Alpha News.
