200. First Detransition Lawsuit Victory: Inside the Varian v. Einhorn Trial with Benjamin Ryan

Today I sit down with investigative reporter Benjamin Ryan, who was the only journalist present for the entirety of the historic Varian v. Einhorn trial — the first detransition malpractice lawsuit in the world to reach a jury verdict. Ben has been covering pediatric gender medicine for three years for outlets including the New York Times, NBC News, the New York Sun, and the Free Press, and he brings an extraordinary level of detail to this conversation.

We dive into the case of Fox Varian, a young woman diagnosed with autism who underwent a double mastectomy at age 16 after her psychologist, Kenneth Einhorn, wrote a referral letter riddled with errors and omissions — including listing body dysmorphic disorder instead of gender dysphoria. We discuss how the jury found Einhorn 70% responsible and plastic surgeon Dr. Chin 30% responsible for a $2 million award, the devastating testimony from Fox's mother about being coerced with suicide threats, and the critical communication failures between the psychologist and surgeon. We also explore what this verdict means for the nearly 30 other detransition lawsuits currently pending, why WPATH's standards of care were largely sidelined in the trial, and the broader implications for the field of pediatric gender medicine. I also share my own perspective as a therapist who worked for a group practice later acquired by the same company that employed Einhorn.

Benjamin Ryan is an independent reporter who has been covering pediatric gender medicine for the past three years, including on his Substack: benryan.substack.com. He writes for publications such as The New York Times, NBC News and The New York Sun and covered the detransitioner trial for The Free Press. Follow him @BenRyanWriter on X or BlueSky.
BenRyan.net
Benjamin's article in the Free Press, A Legal First That Could Change Gender Medicine

[00:00:00] Start
[00:00:54] Introducing Reporter Benjamin Ryan
[00:09:38] Fox Varian's Background and Rapid Transition
[00:18:35] Were WPATH Guidelines Actually on Trial?
[00:25:30] Disturbing Revelations From Einhorn's Treatment
[00:35:15] Changing the Body to Treat the Mind
[00:46:41] The Joanna Olson-Kennedy Lawsuit
[00:55:32] The Jury Verdict Question by Question
[01:06:41] Einhorn's Visible Devastation in Court
[01:13:04] Q&A: Technicality or Broader Indictment?
[01:31:31] What If WPATH Were Followed Perfectly?

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

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