Trans woman Christine Kitzler underwent gender-reassignment surgery Sept. 3, one day after a Bucks County judge cleared the way for the procedure, despite objections from Kitzler’s parents.
Dr. Christine McGinn performed the three-hour operation at the Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol.
“I heard from Dr. McGinn that Christine is doing well and mission accomplished,” said Angela D. Giampolo, an attorney for Kitzler.
She said McGinn donated her services, but Kitzler had to pay for other costs associated with the procedure.
“Dr. McGinn generously donated her time and expertise, but the hard costs pertaining to the hospital fees had to be covered,” Giampolo explained.
Kitzler’s parents, Klaus and Ingrid Kitzler, tried to stop the surgery, claiming a childhood learning impairment and subsequent mental-health issues rendered their 48-year-old daughter incapable of making sound health-care decisions. They sought emergency limited guardianship, so that an independent psychiatrist could evaluate Kitzler. They also claimed that Kitzler has medical conditions rendering the procedure risky.
Giampolo vigorously opposed the parents’ legal moves.
“Who is anyone, regardless of parental status, to tell a grown woman she’s mentally incapacitated?” Giampolo posed. “You don’t get to use the law to control another person.”
Giampolo also said Kitzler’s surgery wasn’t inordinately risky.
“Regardless of Christine’s medical conditions, whatever they may be, those medical conditions in no way increase the risk for this particular surgery,” Giampolo said.
She noted that Kitzler is a college graduate, maintains rental properties in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and jogs about 25 miles weekly.
“She plans to come back to Philadelphia to run a marathon,” Giampolo said. “She feels a community here, in the greater Philadelphia area, because of what she went through.”
On Aug. 31, Kitzler’s parents filed an emergency petition to halt the surgery, which was scheduled for Sept. 1
Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge C. Theodore Fritsch Jr. granted the petition, and an emergency hearing was held Sept. 2.
After the day-long hearing, Fritsch dismissed the petition, effectively paving the way for Kitzler’s surgery.
Giampolo described the Sept. 2 court proceeding.
“After the parents were done putting on their entire case, I made an oral motion to dismiss their petition, because the parents failed to meet their burden of proof that their adult child was incapacitated. The judge asked me on what basis, at which point we went into closing arguments. When both sides rested, the judge said he was ready to rule and immediately went into explaining his favorable decision. He acknowledged that Christine had drug and alcohol issues. She’s been clean and sober for two-and-a-half years, and is a happy, well-adjusted person living as a woman. He spoke for five to seven minutes about what he heard, and why he felt Christine was more than capable of making decisions for herself.”
Giampolo expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
“I’m delighted,” Giampolo said. “This was literally a life-and death situation. While I’ve been doing this LGBT-advocacy work for nine years, I can honestly say this is the first time I feel as if I’ve tangibly saved a life.”
Her law firm provided provided legal services to Kitzler on a pro-bono basis.
“It was an all-hands-in, joint effort,” she said.
She said Kitzler hopes to have a close relationship with her parents someday.
“Christine has stated publicly that she hopes to one day be close to her parents, and that they call her Christine. But until then, she needs space from the toxicity. But she absolutely wishes to one day be close to them and that they call her Christine and acknowledge her as their daughter.”
Julia Morrow, an attorney for Kitzler’s parents, said the family had Kitzler’s best interests in mind.
“They did what they had to do,” Morrow told PGN. “They love their child, and did everything they could to make sure their child was safe.”