For years, people have been gaslit into silence, told that questioning “gender-affirming care” made them bigots, that acknowledging biological sex made them hateful, and that protecting children from divisive ideology made them dangerous. But this year, something changed, and it’s seismic.
When the Federal Trade Commission announced it would investigate deceptive marketing practices behind “gender-affirming care” for minors, the response was overwhelming. More than 12,000 people submitted comments exposing the very real harm of transgender medical experimentation. Independent Women alone mobilized 2,000 of those comments, 15% of the total submitted, through our “Say NO to Mutilation” campaign. That level of engagement signals that the public is finally reclaiming common sense. It’s about time.
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For far too long, bureaucrats and medical institutions have shielded themselves from accountability with buzzwords such as “affirmation” and “inclusion” while destroying the lives of vulnerable young people. I’ve sat down with many of them as they recounted the measurable and massive harm done to their bodies and minds by alleged professionals who swore an oath to “do no harm.”
But the testimonies now flooding the FTC read like a moral awakening. One man from Tennessee called the drug and surgical regimens “barbaric,” and a woman from Washington slammed the abuse and mutilation as unacceptable. Another woman from Montana urged that American youth, who are arguably the most vulnerable among us, “deserve to be protected, not lied to.”
The powerful submissions echo what I’ve seen across the most vibrant public square humanity has experienced: the social media comment sections. Each time IW Features, the grassroots storytelling arm of Independent Women, publishes a new documentary or article featuring the victims of gender ideology, my heart is warmed by the genuine sympathy for their struggles.
Our “Identity Crisis” series helped plant the seeds of this cultural awakening by elevating detransitioners’ stories when no one else would listen. Now, those voices, which were once limited to influencing hearts, are shaping policy. I can’t imagine anyone watching Claire Abernathy recount her double mastectomy, cloaked as “top surgery,” before she even entered high school, and the trauma of experiencing her nipple grafts falling off, and not feel deeply uncomfortable with this style of “care.” Or watching Isabelle Ayala describe her suicide attempt as a 14-year-old, which she attributes to testosterone injections at the hands of a licensed medical professional.
Then there’s Chloe Cole, who went under the knife when she was only 15. She went public with her experience and became a vocal, courageous advocate of truth in pediatric medicine, and she’s now the namesake for groundbreaking legislation: the Chloe Cole Act. The act, introduced to Congress by Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as the planned Senate sponsor, would not only stop medical professionals from chemically or surgically mutilating minors, but it would establish a private right of action so these victims could sue their practitioners for civil damages and extend the statute of limitations to those harmed decades ago.
This shows that for the first time in years, parents, whistleblowers, and detransitioners are being heard by the same institutions that previously silenced them. This is a moral reset that’s instilling courage in people, especially parents, who were conditioned to “trust the experts” and ask no questions.
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What we’re witnessing is a slow but steady return to sanity and common sense. These values once defined our nation, and thankfully, they’re reemerging at the right time to protect children from ideological and medical exploitation.
At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be controversial to say what’s true: No human being can change his or her sex. And no child should ever be mutilated in the name of “compassion.”
Andrea Mew is the managing editor of IW Features, the grassroots storytelling arm of Independent Women, and a contributing writer for Evie Magazine.
