MASS. APPEALS INMATE SEX CHANGE SURGERY RULING

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_INMATE_SEX_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-03-07-13-35

BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts has filed an appeal of a judge's decision to grant a convicted murderer's request for a taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery.

The Boston Globe reports that in papers filed Tuesday, lawyers for the state Department of Correction's commissioner asked for a stay of the order granting a sex change for Michelle Kosilek, until a federal appeals court can rule.

The state says it believes the medical care the 63-year-old Kosilek is receiving is adequate and that the court didn't address what it says are legitimate safety concerns of protecting her in prison.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled last month that the surgery is the only adequate treatment for Kosilek's gender-identity disorder.

[One_Life_To_Give]

1. If she hadn't killed her wife...

I am torn over this and find I want to make distinctions about why Michelle should be excluded. It doesn't seem fair that we have many girls over at Fenway Health and other places specializing in GID. And who do we decide to use public money on? If she wants to come up with her own funds to pay for it, fine. But not while so many much more deserving, law abiding people have to go without.

[Evasporque]

2. A ward of the state is exactly that....and determining the responsibilities of the state

is appropriate....what this does is allow the social and individual prejudices to be be removed concerning transsexualism and the courts will judge the situation on the ground of "medical necessity" and not by how much people are bothered by transsexuals. Outside of prison insurance companies, doctors, employers, schools and host of others are free to discriminate against transgender people. The state cannot do that to inmates. So this trial is very important as it will set a precedent on the "medical necessity" of sexual reassignment surgery in the treatment of GID....something that many people have tried to squash by many means....by making the GID a non-diagnosable disorder....by declaring it immoral etc, etc, etc....

A favorable ruling could have a major influence on insurance companies that exclude all treatment of transsexualism....

Countries with socialized medicine cover and provide treatment (Britain, Canada, Denmark....)