Quote from: Maddie Secutura on May 12, 2011, 05:57:29 AM
Of course it's necessary however lack of insulin will kill you a whole lot faster. If someone is on HRT before going to jail then keep them on it. If they had their surgery scheduled already let them go get it. If it's not funded for law abiding citizens why should it be for criminals? If it were covered for us then go ahead and cover it for her. But it's not and prison is a punishment anyway.
Nothing is funded for law-abiding citizens in the U.S. Which is itself a problem.
Quote from: Ann Onymous on May 11, 2011, 09:54:18 PM
Apples to oranges.
One does not typically decide while in prison that they need treatment for diabetes. They were under a managed care regimen if they actually were taking care of their condition in the free world. Further, those persons entering agency custody would be maintained in a condition consistent with the care received in the free world. There would not be a benefit conferred of additional care beyond basic maintenance.
The TS who was under medical management in the community would continue to receive HRT in the correctional setting. They should not receive the benefit of surgery at State expense as a reward for committing a felony. And if they decide to wait until AFTER they got to prison to decide they need treatment, then their options SHOULD necessarily be limited for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is a propensity (acknowledged by many of our firm's clients) to manipulate the system whenever possible to make time as comfortable as possible.
So, if a prisoner with diabetes were to need surgery - e.g. amputation of a necrotic limb - because their condition had been poorly managed, and if this need were first discovered while they were imprisoned, you would deny them that lifesaving care?
Again, if trans-related medical care is necessary, then it is necessary for everyone. You're not doing yourselves any favours at all by arguing against that. If you yourselves argue that SRS is elective (and you must, since only elective care is ever supposed to be denied to prisoners), then why should insurance companies cover it? Why should it even be legal?
As for your privileged, cold-hearted "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" BS, an absolutely huge number of Americans are in prison for nonviolent drug offenses. Among that population, there are very high rates of physical and mental illness, because people who don't have access to decent health care are likely to use drugs as a coping mechanism. This includes trans women. LGBT and female prisoners are also imprisoned at high rates for "accessory" and "conspiracy" charges, often as a result of living in abusive/coercive relationships. Low-income pre-op trans women with limited education, especially black and Hispanic women, are an extremely vulnerable population, often exploited, abused, and controlled. Breaking the law is often a survival decision: prostitute yourself to get money to survive and get medical care, use drugs to cope with the degradation of prostitution and the pain of being trans, and from that point you do pretty much whatever your drug dealer and/or pimp say in order to avoid simply being murdered.