Transgender Surgery Equates to ‘Living a Lie,’ Judge Is Told

Detransitioners testify in landmark Arkansas trial about their harrowing medical procedures

Demonstrators reach out to Los Angelenos about complications associated with gender reassignment surgeries in downtown Los Angeles on March 12, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Laura Smalts, a 40-year-old newlywed with long, wavy brunette hair, beams when she talks about her husband of seven months.

But Smalts’ brow furrows and she looks down when recounting the years she spent as “Jake,” her transgender alter ego. Jake sported a beard after testosterone injections and a masculine-looking chest after a double mastectomy.