Dr. Kurt Miceli, medical director for the advocacy group Do No Harm, told the Washington Examiner that the verdict was a “breakthrough” for detransitioners, such as Varian, and the pain they go through in undergoing gender transition surgery that they later regret.

“This is the first time a jury has really validated and acknowledged the pains and challenges that a detransitioner has gone through, and really said that gender transition procedures do constitute harm — significant harm — especially to the individual here who was impacted as a minor,” Miceli said. “And really, clinicians failed. They failed terribly in terms of caring for Fox.”

Another prominent detransitioner, Chloe Cole, celebrated the ruling in favor of Varian as a “huge leap for the detransitioner movement.” Cole is pursuing her own lawsuit seeking to find doctors liable for malpractice regarding her gender transition surgeries.

“Every doctor and clinic involved in this fad should be very afraid for what comes next. They knew what they were doing when they performed mastectomies on perfectly healthy teenagers. Two million dollars is nothing compared to the personal cost of childhood mutilation, but this verdict gives real hope to the next generation of detransitioners seeking justice,” Cole said in a statement.

During the trial, Varian said her surgery left her with nerve pain, adding that she “immediately had a thought that this was wrong, and it couldn’t be true,” according to the Epoch Times.

“Shame,” she said during the trial. “I felt shame. It’s hard to face that you are disfigured for life.”

Miceli said the harms done to those who undergo sex change treatments are “significant” and that the medical system should support detransitioners as they navigate those challenges.

“I think when we listen to the stories of detransitioners, people who’ve gone through these horrible medications and procedures, we hear the the more than just the physical trauma that it’s caused, but also the emotional scarring and the lifelong consequences that they live with, whether that is dealing with the wounds that may result, or just their appearance,” Miceli told the Washington Examiner.

“So it is enormously difficult, and I think there’s, unfortunately, a degree of distress and regret that also results. And it’s important for us as a medical system to understand that, to recognize that, and be willing and able to help these individuals recover through that,” he added.

The Supreme Court handed advocates against transgender surgeries for minors a major victory in June 2025, when it ruled that Tennessee’s law barring the procedure for minors was constitutional. The 6-3 ruling had wider ramifications beyond the Volunteer State, upholding similar laws in more than 20 other states.

Among the states that have allowed the procedures to remain lawful for minors, several, including California and New York, have attempted to bill themselves as safe havens for families seeking to give their children gender transition surgeries. Varian’s win in the New York court puts doctors in those states on alert for liability they may face for the surgeries they are performing, especially on minors.

“I think it’s clear that ideology doesn’t shield them and, certainly, for the institutions that support them, this unquestioned affirmation model is really dangerous and bad, and its time has come to an end. It’s important for us to be accountable, and for us as a medical community to really turn the page and begin a healing process whereby we recognize the harms of pediatric medical transition, we support those individuals who have unfortunately been so hurt by it,” Miceli said.

“I think certainly for those detransitioners, this tells them that their injuries are real, and courts will listen,” he added. “And it’s important that we do listen, and we make right the terrible wrongs that were done.”

One of the major hurdles for detransitioners seeking to hold doctors who performed surgeries on them liable for malpractice is the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations varies by state but typically ranges from one to three years. With Varian’s case showing courts can side with detransitioners on these lawsuits, the statute of limitations could emerge as a key issue for activists.

Advocates have pushed to expand the statute of limitations, and the Trump administration previously threw its weight behind a bill that would allow detransitioners to file lawsuits up to 25 years after their 18th birthday or four years after their procedure, whichever is later.

DOJ BACKS BILL EXTENDING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR DETRANSITIONER LAWSUITS BY 25 YEARS

Miceli said the roughly two-year time frame most states offer for medical malpractice lawsuits is too narrow, especially considering that detransitioners can take years to reconsider the surgeries that permanently alter their bodies.

“What we do know is that it does take longer than that two-year period, and I think it’s just so important for us, especially when these are individuals who were adolescents at the time of their transition, that they have the ability to really allow for justice to take place,” Miceli said.