Jonni Skinner was a "naturally effeminate" gay boy who struggled to be accepted by those around him. In the pursuit of acceptance and understanding, Skinner ended up getting a referral to the gender clinic at the University of Michigan and Mott's Children's Hospital. There, Skinner was told he wasn't gay, but that he was born in the wrong body and put on a path to medically transition to a girl. He was 13 years old at the time.
What followed is a harrowing, heartbreaking story of medical abuse, malpractice, and fraud.
Jonni Skinner is a heroic young man @JonniSkinner.
— Brad Paquette (@BradPaquetteMI) October 10, 2025
If you are willing to understand what Gender Affirming "Care" actually entails from what it looks like in a gender clinic here in Michigan, please listen to his experience.
He was naturally effeminate and gay as a boy where he… pic.twitter.com/FDvwpwxxdb
Skinner discussed his experiences at length and said he trusted the medical professionals, despite some red flags. "He (Dr. Schumer) did briefly talk about my fertility and offered to save sperm, which I was disgusted by," Skinner said. "I didn't even know what that was."
In 2021, Skinner said he went through an "identity crisis" and had a slew of medical issues. "Every doctor I went to was just telling me that everything was okay. If I went to a doctor for breast pain and fluid leakage, they'd be like, 'Welcome to womanhood,' and I just wasn't getting any answers."
That was the year Dr. Schumer told Skinner he was to blame for what was going on. "I really just wanted answers from him. And he had said that, you know, that it was my fault. That I made this decision, that it was my decision and the blame was with me." Dr. Schumer then hung up on Skinner and never contacted him again.
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"I think we need to start going after these doctors that are doing this to children," Skinner said. "This was not a conclusion that I necessarily arrived at on my own. I was a gender non-conforming child; I would've been a classic case of an effeminate child just growing to be a gay man. And I just needed somebody at the time to help me feel lovable and accepted. And those people didn't do that. They used my insecurities and my worldview against me."
Skinner continued, "Not in the name of care, because they didn't care for me at all as I was struggling with side effects and had questions. I think we need to start going after these doctors criminally because what they're doing is criminal."
"People seem to be approaching this from an angle of short-term happiness or short-term thinking, and that's a violation of...part of medical ethics is beneficence, which is the care for your long-term benefit, Skinner added.
When Skinner was asked about how to approach this topic and make changes, he told Paquette, "Keep doing what you're doing and have a heart of compassion. Because when you approach this from a place of compassion and understanding ...that any kind of slander or attacks that might be thrown your way...it'll just roll like water off a duck's back."
Paquette and Skinner note that Dr. Schumer is testifying before state legislatures across the nation in favor of child transitions.
The doctors and others who were involved with Skinner's care also threatened his mother with loss of custody if she didn't affirm his gender and make his home "welcoming." Skinner said his mother was often asked to leave the room during his appointments, especially when she asked questions about the side effects of his treatment.
If all of that wasn't bad enough, it turns out that there is also likely to be rampant insurance fraud taking place, too. The doctors who tried to transition Jonni Skinner reportedly put false medical diagnoses in Skinner's chart to mask the gender affirming care, diagnosing him with "endocrine disorders" he did not have.
Republican State Rep. Brad Paquette is sounding the alarm on the University of Michigan and Mott's Children's Hospital committing insurance fraud to transition children.
The seriousness of this cannot be overstated.
— Brad Paquette (@BradPaquetteMI) November 5, 2025
In Michigan, children like @JonniSkinner have been diagnosed with endocrine disorders they did not have in name of "gender affirming care".
Deliberate insurance fraud has been committed at Mott's Children's Hospital @UMich. pic.twitter.com/nXiUhi8E0R
On November 4, Michigan Advance reported that the Michigan House Oversight Committee is planning hearings on bills that would address "gender-affirming care" for minors in the state.
Those three bills, Bill 4466, Bill 4467, and Bill 4468, would not only prohibit "gender-affirming care" for minors in the state and address medical malpractice liability, but also establish laws to provide ongoing care for those who detransition to address their ongoing health concerns.
In an interview with Townhall, Paquette said he's been working on this issue for years, including past work with Eithan Haim, a Texas doctor and whistleblower, who the Biden administration targeted after Haim exposed gender transition surgeries at Texas Children's Hospital. They reached out to the American Medical Association (AMA) to discuss "gender-affirming care" and found that those at the AMA "don't understand evidence-based medicine." He also noted the aforementioned bills were classified as "anti-trans" by groups that track such legislation, and that some of his fellow Democratic legislators in Michigan described them as "hateful." He added that some Democrats do quietly agree with such legislation and said, "Committee hearings are key."
Paquette said officials from the University of Michigan and Mott's Children's Hospital would be invited to those Oversight Committee hearings and noted that legislators sent letters asking how many children are receiving "gender-affirming treatment."
"They won't tell us anything," Paquette said. He noted that there was a "lack of trust" in medical institutions stemming from the COVID era, and described what happened to Jonni Skinner and others as "pseudoscience" and "malpractice."
We don't know why the doctors were hiding "gender-affirming care" behind fake diagnoses; it's not presently illegal to transition a child in Michigan. Was it to conceal the number of children receiving treatment or expedite insurance reimbursements? Either way, the laws were broken, and Paquette said that medical providers found to have committed insurance fraud should face consequences. "They need to go to jail," he said.
Paquette's primary focus, however, is on protecting children, who he describes as vulnerable and often traumatized, from being further harmed by medical providers who rush to "affirm" gender rather than address the deeper issues. He recounted the story of a woman who "liked boy things" being asked by her therapist if she was really a boy, or another detransitioner, Prisha Mosley, who was raped at 14, conceived, and later miscarried. That led Mosley to hate her body.
Mosley struggled with depression and other mental health issues, but instead of receiving therapy, she was put on a path to transition to a boy. In testimony before several state legislatures, Mosley said the transition didn't help her but left her "sexually, mentally, and physically abused" and made her suicidal ideation worse. Mosley underwent a double mastectomy and still suffers phantom breast pain, as well as side effects from testosterone, including baldness, hair growth on her body, and shoulders that are so broad they "burn" with pain sometimes. She told the Kansas state legislature, "I want to save children from experiencing this pain as they chase a temporary euphoria promised by doctors selling snake oil. If you medically transition, you will be on the medical leash for life."
Paquette said we need to be accurate and compassionate in our language, and that we simply want boys and girls to "develop in their natural bodies" instead of being told that transitioning is a "magic bullet" that will address the mental, emotional, and physical issues experienced by kids like Skinner and Mosley. He called for a "clear eye of scrutiny" and an "extra set of eyes" in the room for vulnerable kids who medical providers could mislead, recounting how providers removed Skinner's mother from the room when she questioned his treatment. Paquette added that under Michigan's law banning conversion therapy, therapists are prohibited from telling a male patient who might question his identity that they are, in fact, a boy.
He also added that parents, like Skinner's mother, need support and connections to other parents facing similar situations. "They need to have a network of other parents they can connect to," Paquette said, and that includes links to organizations like Do No Harm and legal counsel. Paquette said Skinner was having trouble obtaining legal counsel to address the medical fraud in his record after attorneys found out that Dr. Schumer was involved in Skinner's care.
Despite the overwhelming amount of work, Paquette says people "are finally waking up" and the political push behind "gender-affirming care" is "starting to fall apart." He also noted that writing and talking about the issue helps raise awareness among parents and others about what's happening in places like Michigan and elsewhere.
"I see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel," Paquette said.
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