Transgender woman sues after being denied free breast cancer screening

[Amelia Pond]

Transgender woman sues after being denied free breast cancer screening
Will Rippley, Oct 14, 2013, 10:06 PM

The legal definition of "female" is at the center of a new lawsuit.

Jennifer Blair, a transsexual woman, is suing for the right to get free breast cancer screenings.

Blair had surgery to change her gender more than a decade ago.

Women's Wellness Connection, a state-run healthcare program, recently turned her away because she is "not genetically female."

9Wants to Know began looking into this after getting a newstip, and found this lawsuit could have national implications.

It's a complicated legal issue, but it all boils down to a simple question: If someone is born a man, but has surgery to become a woman, are they entitled to same free healthcare as other women?

"I'm just a person like anyone else," said the 62-year-old Blair. "I have the same hopes, the same dreams, [and] the same concerns as any other woman."

Only Blair wasn't born a woman.

She spent almost 50 years living as a male.

[Vicky]

Two big problems.

1 --Men can get breast cancer!! 

2 --I am transsexual, and I had a mammogram as part of my HMO's screening process the minute an "F" hit their machine and the MGram discovered suspicious tissue on the first hit.  A biopsy of the tissue showed it to be benign, but hey these are my hard won boobs and it could have been different.  That is a scare I will never forget.

[suzifrommd]

Horrifying.

It shouldn't matter whether you are "legally" or "hormonally" female.

It should matter whether the screening could save your life.

[Kittenswithmittens]

It should matter whether the screening could save your life.

This.

Breast cancer doesn't care about chromosomes.

[Zumbagirl]

I did one of those traveling mammograms a few years ago and I didn't have any problems. I didn't like doing a mammogram but at least I know I am okay right now. I think that restriction is nuts and doesn't make sense. A lot of breast cancer screenings are paid for not with public funds but with private foundations when one doesn't have health coverage.

[DriftingCrow]

I did one of those traveling mammograms a few years ago and I didn't have any problems. I didn't like doing a mammogram but at least I know I am okay right now. I think that restriction is nuts and doesn't make sense. A lot of breast cancer screenings are paid for not with public funds but with private foundations when one doesn't have health coverage.

The article says they get their funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

I do some work for a program that's federally funded, we have income requirements to follow, so if we help someone who's even like $100 over the limit, we could loose all of our funding. Likely, they'd loose all of their funding if it was discovered they'd helped a transwoman, which the article says isn't allowed by the CDC's requirements. If  you're angry at anyone, it should be the CDC, not this organization.

[Bardoux]

Jennifer Blair, Transgender Woman, Sues After Being Denied Mammogram Test Because She Is 'Not Genetically Female' (Video new's story link)
Justin Caba, October 16th

"I'm just a person like anyone else," Blair told WUSA 9. "I have the same hopes, the same dreams, [and] the same concerns as any other woman."

Although Blair was able to pay for a mammogram and has been considered cancer-free, she is still filing a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and Women's Wellness Connection. According to Blair's attorney, Sarah Parady, her client being denied a free breast cancer screening is in direct violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

"It's discrimination based on her transgender status. I think that's pretty black and white," Parady told WUSA 9. "That is a terrible injustice."

http://www.medicaldaily.com/jennifer-blair-transgender-woman-sues-after-being-denied-mammogram-test-because-she-not-genetically