Lawsuit targets Gastonia doctor for gender reassignment surgery

A woman who thought she was transgender as a teenager alleges in a lawsuit that a Gaston County surgical practice and other medical providers lied to her about her gender identity, leading her to make irreversible medical decisions.

Charlie Mosley, who now uses the name Prisha Mosley, alleges in a lawsuit filed in Gaston County Superior Court that two therapists in Greensboro, a pediatrician in Chapel Hill, and a surgeon in Gastonia misled her about her gender identity and the effects of gender affirming care. The lawsuit alleges that they withheld information from her and misrepresented her psychological status in order to funnel her toward hormone treatments, which she began while she was still a minor, and eventually surgery.

The lawsuit names Dr. Eric T. Emerson, a doctor at Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology, Brie Klein-Fowler, a therapist at Family Solutions, Shana Gordon, a therapist at Tree of Life Counseling, and Dr. Martha Fairbanks Perry, a doctor who then worked at Cone Medical Services.

According to the lawsuit, Prisha Mosley's troubles began at the age of 14, when she was sexually assaulted and suffered a miscarriage. At age 15, she was hospitalized for a week at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital for depression, and by 16, her diagnoses included major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and an eating disorder.

For these, she was prescribed multiple medications, including an antipsychotic.

In November 2014, she was referred to a dietician at Cone Health, and the dietician referred her to Perry. Under Perry's supervision, Mosley told a medical resident that she felt she was transgender and that she wanted top surgery, a surgery to remove her breasts, in order to become male, the lawsuit states.

She was diagnosed as having a "gender identity crisis," the court document says.

Despite her ongoing mental health problems, Perry validated Mosley's struggles with her gender identity, going behind her parents' backs to move her into a gender transition, the lawsuit states.

At age 17, Perry guided Mosley further into gender transition, and Mosley indicated that she could not "wait to turn 18 and have the surgery," the suit says.

Mosley eventually met with Gordon, a therapist, who allegedly told her she was actually a boy. Gordon allegedly misled Mosley into believing that she was a boy and that changing her body would solve her psychological problems, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that Perry ignored red flags, such as Mosley's suicidal ideation, and prescribed her testosterone injections to aid in her transition. Mosley says that she was not informed about possible side effects, including vaginal atrophy, the inability to have sexual intercourse, a permanent voice change, pain in her shoulders, neck and vaginal area, and possible infertility.

Gordon and Klein-Fowler both wrote letters recommending Mosley for gender affirming care, the lawsuit states.

In 2016, Mosley had an appointment with Emerson, and on Dec. 8, 2016, Emerson surgically removed Mosley's breasts, the lawsuit says.

Mosley could not be reached for comment, but in an interview with a conservative media organization, EWTN News Nightly, she stated that what led up to her transition was "mental illness, a fast and strong puberty, a sexual assault and online indoctrination."

"I was affirmed by my doctors. There was no pushback, there was only lies and promises of cures," she said.

Mosley said that she now has medical problems from the effects of the testosterone and the surgery, but she cannot find help.

"My shoulders are overgrown and my hips are too small… I have severe vaginal atrophy, which makes my sexual organs dysfunctional, and I'm most likely infertile. I'll never have my breasts back, and I suffer from phantom breast syndrome as well," she said.

Mosley's Twitter account indicates that she has been serving as a detransitioner activist in order to bolster legislation that would make it harder for transgender people, particularly minors, to access gender affirming care. One such law was recently passed in North Carolina.

H.B. 808 would make it illegal for medical professionals to perform gender reassignment surgery or offer puberty blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to minors. Although Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, the legislature is expected to override the veto on Aug. 7, according to The Carolina Journal.

In a TikTok video Mosley shared on Twitter, Mosley, now a student in Michigan, spoke publicly, appearing to address lawmakers.

"Please, don't let any other vulnerable, mentally ill children become a lifelong medical patient like me. Let them keep their healthy bodies," she said. "I support any bill that prevents someone else from suffering the harms of gender affirming care."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Lawsuit targets Gastonia doctor for gender reassignment surgery