Wow I am blown away by the support that I've received since I posted my personal story about issues arising from the intersection of our broken healthcare system and our broken prison system. Thank you all.
As a follow up to some of the comments people have made let me explain a few things: my concerns about jailing isn't so much about the arrest itself nor being held immediately upon arrest. I am concerned about any time I might serve if I am brought up on charges- for instance when I interrupted Obama's speech in protest which under the recently minted “trespass” law could carry 10 years. 10 years in a men's facility as a legal and medical woman would be hellish. I am a strictly peaceful protester who dissents to the way our country is being run for profit by mega corporations. Protest itself has been criminalized and it leaves me afraid as someone who exercises my constitutional rights that I will be imprisoned at some point.
In terms of SRS (sexual reassignment surgery): the debate over the medical necessity of SRS is that it's “cosmetic” and thus unnecessary- that medically my organ works fine and thus there is no reason to perform the surgery. This is a weak at best argument- for instance do we tell people whose doctors say lap-band surgery is medically required that their stomachs work fine and thus refuse them? People complain that they shouldn't have to pay high insurance rates to cover peoples SRS- but SRS is relatively inexpensive compared to say cancer so that too seems flimsy. Now where things get really odd is that my healthcare team suggested that insurance (and I will have to check this with my insurance company) would cover just the removal surgery. Thus it is medically necessary to remove my genitals (which defeats their own earlier argument that the surgery is purly cosmetic) but not necessary medically to have genitals...? Lastly SRS is in fact medically necessary and here's why: DSM5 medically recognizes Gender Dysphoria (not identifying with your physical gender) as a mental disorder it does not however recognize being transgender as a being a mental disorder. Today I have a mental disorder however if I have SRS I will no longer have a mental disorder because I will no longer be at odds with my physical gender. SRS for me would cure a mental disorder.
To those looking to help: I will be working on petitions to change the prison housing policy for the state of Massachusetts, and if there is anyone trying to do impact litigation for health insurance SRS coverage please contact me I believe my case would be compelling. If I am held in a gender inappropriate way please bombard MA correction and state government with calls, and protest if possible- certainly spread the word should that happen. As soon as the petitions exist I will post links to them. If you are interested in supporting the protesting I do check out massops.weebly.com. If I am held and cannot pay bail that's where a wepay might appear. Otherwise again I want to say thanks all of your comments and support has already helped. :)
Lastly to those pointing out the many many other issues with our prison system: I wholeheartedly agree prison for profit which allows people to be held in deplorable conditions is a disgusting thing in its entirety. Prison rape is serious no matter the genders of the people involved and I certainly agree that the crime in prisons are abhorrent and should also be addressed. Have not yet been to prison tho I cannot speak with authority on these matters so when I published my story, or perhaps it should be called my story to date, I didn't include these things (bc happily they aren't part of my story yet- and hopefully ever). I published my story with the aim to open peoples eyes to what I'm going through and what the precedents are that allowing this might set. I also published my story because sharing it was a way for me to vent the pressure I'm under and hopefully do some good.
be well,
K
As a follow up to some of the comments people have made let me explain a few things: my concerns about jailing isn't so much about the arrest itself nor being held immediately upon arrest. I am concerned about any time I might serve if I am brought up on charges- for instance when I interrupted Obama's speech in protest which under the recently minted “trespass” law could carry 10 years. 10 years in a men's facility as a legal and medical woman would be hellish. I am a strictly peaceful protester who dissents to the way our country is being run for profit by mega corporations. Protest itself has been criminalized and it leaves me afraid as someone who exercises my constitutional rights that I will be imprisoned at some point.
In terms of SRS (sexual reassignment surgery): the debate over the medical necessity of SRS is that it's “cosmetic” and thus unnecessary- that medically my organ works fine and thus there is no reason to perform the surgery. This is a weak at best argument- for instance do we tell people whose doctors say lap-band surgery is medically required that their stomachs work fine and thus refuse them? People complain that they shouldn't have to pay high insurance rates to cover peoples SRS- but SRS is relatively inexpensive compared to say cancer so that too seems flimsy. Now where things get really odd is that my healthcare team suggested that insurance (and I will have to check this with my insurance company) would cover just the removal surgery. Thus it is medically necessary to remove my genitals (which defeats their own earlier argument that the surgery is purly cosmetic) but not necessary medically to have genitals...? Lastly SRS is in fact medically necessary and here's why: DSM5 medically recognizes Gender Dysphoria (not identifying with your physical gender) as a mental disorder it does not however recognize being transgender as a being a mental disorder. Today I have a mental disorder however if I have SRS I will no longer have a mental disorder because I will no longer be at odds with my physical gender. SRS for me would cure a mental disorder.
To those looking to help: I will be working on petitions to change the prison housing policy for the state of Massachusetts, and if there is anyone trying to do impact litigation for health insurance SRS coverage please contact me I believe my case would be compelling. If I am held in a gender inappropriate way please bombard MA correction and state government with calls, and protest if possible- certainly spread the word should that happen. As soon as the petitions exist I will post links to them. If you are interested in supporting the protesting I do check out massops.weebly.com. If I am held and cannot pay bail that's where a wepay might appear. Otherwise again I want to say thanks all of your comments and support has already helped. :)
Lastly to those pointing out the many many other issues with our prison system: I wholeheartedly agree prison for profit which allows people to be held in deplorable conditions is a disgusting thing in its entirety. Prison rape is serious no matter the genders of the people involved and I certainly agree that the crime in prisons are abhorrent and should also be addressed. Have not yet been to prison tho I cannot speak with authority on these matters so when I published my story, or perhaps it should be called my story to date, I didn't include these things (bc happily they aren't part of my story yet- and hopefully ever). I published my story with the aim to open peoples eyes to what I'm going through and what the precedents are that allowing this might set. I also published my story because sharing it was a way for me to vent the pressure I'm under and hopefully do some good.
be well,
K
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