Convicted killer's bid for sex change draws big costs

[Hmm]

Convicted killer's bid for sex change draws big costs - CNN.com

Story Highlights • Convicted killer Robert Kosilek, now called Michelle, wants sex-change surgery • Trial opened more than a year ago; expert testimony has cost more than $52,000 • Advocates say sex-change surgery, in some cases, is a medical necessity • Trial outrages lawmakers who say taxpayers shouldn't pay for "elective" surgery BOSTON (AP) -- A trial that opened more than a year ago has become bogged down in Boston federal court. There have been hundreds of hours of testimony from witnesses, including 10 medical specialists paid tens of thousands of dollars. The judge himself even hired an expert to help him make sense of it all. The question at the center of the case: Should a murderer serving life in prison get a sex-change operation at taxpayer expense? The case of Michelle -- formerly Robert -- Kosilek is being closely watched across the country by advocates for other inmates who want to undergo a sex change. Transgender inmates in other states have sued prison officials, and not one has succeeded in persuading a judge to order a sex-change operation. The Massachusetts Correction Department is vigorously fighting Kosilek's request for surgery, saying it would create a security nightmare and make Kosilek a target for sexual assault. An Associated Press review of the case, including figures obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and interviews, found that the Correction Department and its outside health care provider have spent more than $52,000 on experts to testify about an operation that would cost about $20,000. The duration and expense of the case have outraged some lawmakers who insist that taxpayers should not have to pay for inmates to have surgery that most private insurers reject as elective. "They are prisoners. They are there because they've broken the law," said Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, who unsuccessfully introduced a bill to ban sex-change surgery for inmates. "Other folks, people who want to get these types of surgeries, they have to go through their insurance carrier or save up for it and do it independently. Yet if you are in prison, you can do it for nothing? That doesn't make a lot of sense."

So, what do you think should happen?

[LordCaelvan]

If this is a case of "I need the surgery for my health", then I say that she should be permitted to have it, even at tax-payer expense. Maybe this isn't the best example of medical care for inmates. But if we start getting choosy about who gets what why, in terms of prison welfare, then other things are going to start to slide, and the next thing you know it's nineteenth century all over again.

On the other hand, while I support both gay and inmate's rights, if this is a case of "I'm a woman inside, and I want to be one outside too", then I don't think she should be allowed it. It's a roll of the dice, what gender you are when you are born. It's the government's job to keep people healthy, not necessarily happy. Also, you would start getting perverts with life sentences and nothing to loose going crazy, abusing their "right" to get a prepaid sex change.

Although, if she can somehow pull together the funds herself, it should be made available to her, medically needed or not.

[brien]

So, what do you think should happen?

Maybe some of his fellow inmates could perform the surgery. Elaina Bobbit, where are you when we need you? Obviously the state shouldn't underwrite this man's sexual desires. What a slippery slope....

[Athena]

Quote by: Hmm Convicted killer's bid for sex change draws big costs - CNN.com So, what do you think should happen?

I think this is a wonderful chance to learn something about our human nature. If I were a multimillionaire, I would create a special prison for these folks, and allow them the surgical changes they want, and allow them to develop their own support group. I would of course want to know the effect of doing this, and ask if may be this action is the best way to correct some people in the correction system.

It is not easy being human. Especially not for those who are different, and we can differ from the norm in many different ways. We need to be more open to what works and trying new things.