It's common-sense that this surgery is "elective". Just like it's common-sense that Dolphins are Fish, that the Earth is Flat, and that Bats are Birds - it even says so in the Bible.

But common-sense, while a really good guide, is not infallible. Anyone who's studied astronomy knows the world isn't flat, anyone who's studied biology knows that both dolphins and bats are mammals. And anyone who's studied Transsexuality knows that people die without treatment for it.

It's a rare politician though who goes by what the medics say, and against the voting public's misperceptions.

From AMA resolution 122:

"Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and

Whereas, An established body of medical research demonstrates the effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery as forms of therapeutic treatment for many people diagnosed with GID; and

Whereas, Health experts in GID, including WPATH, have rejected the myth that such treatments are “cosmetic” or “experimental” and have recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective treatment for a serious health condition....

Whereas, Many health insurance plans categorically exclude coverage of mental health, medical, and surgical treatments for GID, even though many of these same treatments, such as psychotherapy, hormone therapy, breast augmentation and removal, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and salpingectomy, are often covered for other medical conditions; and

Whereas, The denial of these otherwise covered benefits for patients suffering from GID represents discrimination based solely on a patient’s gender identity; and

Whereas, Delaying treatment for GID can cause and/or aggravate additional serious and expensive health problems, such as stress-related physical illnesses, depression, and substance abuse problems, which further endanger patients’ health and strain the health care system; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the patient’s physician."

And that's why Adams said that covering "basic, medically-necessary care is a matter of fairness, and it's the right thing to do."

Is she a city employee?

The trouble is that the "transsexual exclusion" does far more than not cover sex reassignment.

If a trans person is in a car crash and breaks a leg - that's not covered, as the hormones might have weakened the bone. Or *not* taking hormones might have weakened the bone. If they contract breast cancer - that's not covered. Nor prostate cancer. In fact, just about anything can be, and has been, excluded in the past.

So Transsexual employees get to pay for everyone else's coverage - but don't get any themselves. The Portland insurance is not quite that bad, but it's bad enough. Any woman can get a hysterectomy and have it paid for, if there's a medical necessity for it. Unless she's trans (and some trans people are Intersexed, it's not just the brain that is cross-sexed anatomically, other parts can be as well).

"Im ignorant? You actually believe this is a medical condition! ...I may not have transgender friends but I do have gay friends, but they do not WANT to change their sex! "

Of course they don't. That's because they're Gay, not Transsexual. Like being Texan, rather than Red-headed. Though there are Gay Transsexuals too, like there are Texan redheads.

Yes, I believe it's a medical condition - because you can see the anatomical differences on MRI and PET scans, and in autopsies. So can the AMA. This is why their Resolution 122 says, in part:

"Whereas, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a serious medical condition recognized as
such in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed., Text
Revision) (DSM-IV-TR) and the International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision),2
and is characterized in the DSM-IV-TR as a persistent discomfort with one’s assigned
sex and with one’s primary and secondary sex characteristics, which causes intense
emotional pain and suffering; and

Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress,
dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate
medical care and treatment, suicidality and death;..."

So yes, you're ignorant, if you don't know this. Or think that Transsexuality is some form of homosexuality, or that the Earth is Flat no matter what the Scientists say. Though I'd prefer to say you were "ill-informed" or "lacking knowledge like most people" rather than "ignorant" - unless you are made aware of the facts, but choose to ignore them.

"Going from a woman to a man or a man to a woman is a choice! It is a want, not a need!"

From the actual medical standards of care:
"In persons diagnosed with transsexualism or profound GID, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. Such a therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated and medically necessary. Sex reassignment is not "experimental," "investigational," "elective," "cosmetic," or optional in any meaningful sense. It constitutes very effective and appropriate treatment for transsexualism or profound GID. "

They had to make it absolutely, positively, definitely crystal clear, because so many misinformed people like yourself think otherwise, based on "common sense". Just like it's "common sense" that the world is Flat, unless you know better.

"I've said it before and I will say it again: God does not make mistakes."

Which is why no-one is ever born with spina bifida, or cleft palate, or heart defects... no-one ever changes sex naturally (well, apart from the Guevedoces in the Dominican Republic, the Turnim-men in New-guinea, the Transformers in Gaza, and anyone else in the world with the 5ARD, 17BHDD, 3BHDD or other mutations that can cause that to happen). See http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html

Or do you know better than God?

"The appropriate treatment for gender confusion is counseling and therapy, NOT surgery to become something you are not."

That's been tried for over 60 years, with a 0.00000% success rate. Couseling and therapy is exactly as effective at treating GID as it is congenital blindness. It might make the patient more able to live with their condition, but it's not a cure. Surgery is. That's what the records say, whether you like that or not. The AMA had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this conclusion, they don't like it any more than you do, but the evidence is overwhelming. People die without surgery; they live if they have it.

Besides which - they're not confused about their gender: other people are.

It's about anatomy. Maybe quoting some of the medical research will help, because yes, this does seem outrageously silly if you don't know the facts. As silly as the world being round, when anyone can see that it's flat - if they don't know the facts.

Male–to–female transsexuals have female neuron numbers in a limbic nucleus. Kruiver et al J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2000) 85:2034–2041
The present findings of somatostatin neuronal sex differences in the BSTc and its sex reversal in the transsexual brain clearly support the paradigm that in transsexuals sexual differentiation of the brain and genitals may go into opposite directions and point to a neurobiological basis of gender identity disorder.

A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality by Zhou et al Nature (1995) 378:68–70.
Our study is the first to show a female brain structure in genetically male transsexuals and supports the hypothesis that gender identity develops as a result of an interaction between the developing brain and sex hormones

And thousands more, all saying the same thing.

Basically, Boy Brain in otherwise mostly Girl Body, or the reverse. Something visible on MRI and PET scans, and in autopsies. The condition is so distressing that there's plenty of those - it kills people.

The only effective treatment in severe cases is to make the rest of the body match the brain as best we can. It's not perfect. But it saves lives.

The trouble is, most people don't know that. So make fun of politicians who, for once in their lives, have actually done some research into the issue, found out the facts... and advocated for the right thing, even though they'll be castigated for it.

It's caused by a congenital anomaly (to be PC), or a birth defect (to be un-PC). Parts of the body are male, other parts female. This leads to intense distress in severe cases. Basically, anatomically male brain in anatomically female body, or the reverse. You can see this in MRI and PET scans, and all too often in autopsies, as many kill themselves without treatment.

The only treatment that works is surgery and hormones to align all parts of the body as best we can. It's not perfect, but it saves lives. Psych drugs don't work, you can't turn a woman into a man, even if she does have a male body.

We've known about the cause since the mid-90s, but there's a lot of ideological resistance to acknowledging it.

See:

A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality. by Zhou et al Nature (1995) 378:68–70.
Our study is the first to show a female brain structure in genetically male transsexuals and supports the hypothesis that gender identity develops as a result of an interaction between the developing brain and sex hormones

It's not elective, according to the medics. People die without it - that's an objective fact.

"In persons diagnosed with transsexualism or profound GID, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. Such a therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated and medically necessary. Sex reassignment is not "experimental," "investigational," "elective," "cosmetic," or optional in any meaningful sense. " - Medical Standards of Care

It used to be covered, until a report by a Radical Leftist to the Carter Administration that stated that Transsexuality should be "morally mandated out of existence" on ideological grounds in 1981, as they supposedly oppressed women by existing.

"In persons diagnosed with transsexualism or profound GID, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. Such a therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated and medically necessary. Sex reassignment is not "experimental," "investigational," "elective," "cosmetic," or optional in any meaningful sense. "

That's what the medical professionals, the APA, AMA, WPATH etc say. They had to make it really, really unambiguously clear because many people still think it's "cosmetic" or "elective". It saves lives.

Please don't be too hard on Christianity. So many people "know" what's in the Bible, that they never bother reading it. They just rely on "what their preacha is liable to teach ya", and that ain't necessarily so.

Matthew 22:35-40 makes things pretty clear. There are two commandments, the foundations that all the rest is based on, "all the laws and the prophets". And those two commandments can be summarised in just four words:

Love God; Be Kind.

That's it. If in implementing any of the detailed rules and regulations, the laws and sub-laws and sub-sub-sub laws, the "thou shalt nots", you find yourself breaking either of these two Greatest commandments - you've screwed up.

Now Jesus was pwning a Pharisaic critic at the time, so it's likely he used the words of possibly the greatest Pharisaic scholar of the Era, Rabbi Hillel, of some 50 years before. The Rabbi said "The whole Torah is not to treat anyone else in a way you wouldn't want to be treated. The rest is commentary - go learn it". Epic Pwnage by someone who, by all accounts, was a child prodigy in His knowledge of Talmudaic law.

The trouble is that so few "christians" are actually followers of Christ.