The aftermath of the surgery often leaves many in pain, with the resulting "neo-vagina" effectively being an open wound that needs to be dilated daily to prevent it from closing.

Despite Canada's government-assisted suicide program being ultra-liberal, Cardinal has been initially rejected from the program. The case has, according to opponents, demonstrated the pitfalls of not only transgender surgery but of the 2021 liberalization of the euthanasia laws in Canada, which has opened the way for an estimated record of 13,500 state-backed suicides last year, up from 10,064 in 2021.