Instead of affirming that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27),” the transgender ideology states, “I create my own image, I can make myself to be male, female, or anything I choose.” (“Embracing God’s Design” by Walt Heyer and Jennifer Bauwens, Ph.D., Chapter 1)

My Story

In the 1980s, I fell for the idea that I could make myself to be female even though I am male. I took cross-sex hormones, had numerous surgeries to feminize my bodily appearance, and for 8 years, identified as Laura Jensen, female. I came to realize that none of it changed my male body into a biological female. I knew I was a fake and not really a female.

Thanks to a loving church, Christian counseling, and leaning on faith, I offered my life to Jesus and Jesus offered me his divine grace. The Lord Jesus redeemed and restored my sanity.

I admitted to God I had been wrong and foolish to identify as a “trans” female. I came to see that I had elevated my fake “female” self above God and family and was living a blatantly sinful and self-centered life, missing out on God’s divine grace. Today I live as the man God created me to be, bringing Him honor with 40 years of sobriety, 29 years of marriage, and a ministry to others wanting to get their life back, as I did.

The Body Testifies to the Truth

My experience taught me that seeking relief in hormones and surgery to “transition” from one sex to the other is a false promise, a bodacious lie, and I think it’s medical fraud. No meaningful “transition” occurs. Hormones and surgery can alter appearance of the body, such as adding a faux penis or fashioning a faux vagina, but these cosmetic changes cannot override the immutable genetic sex created in the womb during fertilization.

As Dr. Paul McHugh summarizes it succinctly: “Sex is not assigned by decree at birth by a parent or medical professional; it is assigned genetically at fertilization by the pairing of sex chromosomes (XX or XY). The genetic assignment is then expressed by the development of anatomical structures (that is, genitalia).”

The human body’s 30 trillion cells provide undeniable evidence of one’s sexual identity, either XX (female) or XY (male). Cross-sex hormones and surgery don’t change the DNA make-up of 30 trillion cells from one sex to the other.

The bone structure differs between the sexes. For example, the pelvis has distinct differences. A woman’s pelvis is wider, shallower, and lighter, with an inlet to accommodate the delivery of babies. The male pelvis is narrower, heaver and thicker, with denser bone structure for supporting the male’s heavier upper body. A surgeon cannot fashion a female pelvis from a man’s pelvis or vice versa.

Sex differences are real and true “sex reassignment” is impossible. Acknowledging the physical impossibility of changing genders matters because vulnerable people are being directed into serious harm by this false ideology.

Congress Should Act Protect Children (and Help Adults)

For over 11 years I have written articles like this one from 2015 about the harmful effects of administering puberty blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones to children.

As an advocate for protecting children from these egregious practices, I’m a huge supporter of passing the Chloe Cole Act which would prohibit performing or facilitating “gender transition” procedures on minors, and allow those harmed to bring suit with an extended statute of limitations of 25 years beyond the minor’s eighteenth birthday. This important bill needs to be passed and signed into law. (See link at the end for how you can help.)

However, the Chloe Cole act will only protect children under 18, representing only 7 to 8% of the procedures performed nationwide and leaving the other 90% who are adults like I was totally unprotected. If the procedures are harmful to individuals under age 18 then it seems reasonable to expect that harms would extend into adulthood as well. But the statute of limitations for bringing medical malpractice suits is pitifully short — in many states only two years. Extending that time limit would allow those harmed to seek redress through the courts.

True Causes – Not Gender Dysphoria

The diagnosis of “gender dysphoria,” or distress with one’s gender identity, given by gender clinics invariably leads to a treatment plan called “gender affirming care.”

The goal of “gender affirming care” is to change the patient’s physical appearance to that of the opposite sex. The lucrative industry of gender clinics, psychologists, endocrinologists, surgeons, and hormone providers (especially Planned Parenthood) fails to consider or treat the underlying basis of the patient’s psychological distress, leaving the patient worse off.

The causes of gender distress include traumatic events, mental illness, addiction, and social contagion. In my 20 years of ministry to distressed “sex change” regretters, I have received thousands of emails from individuals who tell me tragic stories about their childhood and doctors who dismissed it as irrelevant, and who instead wrongly diagnosed them with gender dysphoria and provided hormones and surgery, causing many regrettable outcomes. The people share the traumatic events in their lives: how they or a family member suffered from cancer, a parent was an alcoholic, a sibling or parent died, or they endured sexual or physical abuse.

My doctor didn’t consider the abuse in my childhood and the trauma of losing my father to cancer when I was twenty, but now I see these events played a major part in driving me to erase “Walt” and escape into a female “transgender” identity.

It seems like malpractice for doctors to treat psychological issues with irreversible, invasive surgeries on healthy body parts. I’m happy to see the lawsuits are underway, and those harmed are winning settlements, like Fox Varian and Camille Kiefel.

If you know someone who is struggling with their gender identity, encourage them to look deeper for the cause of their distress, and above all, avoid hormones and surgery.

Summary

Today, with over 80 years of my life in the rear-view mirror, fully half of my life is a testimony to the power and grace of Jesus Christ to redeem and restore the most broken of lives. I can confidently say God created me in His image as male in every cell of my body, and no amount of surgery or hormones could change that.

Vulnerable children and teens need to be protected from harm, and passing the Chloe Cole Act will do that. You can support the Chloe Cole Act by contacting your members of Congress here. 

The FRC book, “Embracing God’s Design,” by Jennifer Bowens, Ph.D. and Senior Fellow Walt Heyer and the resources at embracethedesign.com are written to equip Christians to understand this topic and to minister to those who struggle with their identity.