Free Republic

also called gender-affirmation or gender-affirming surgery. This can take different forms, including the removal of breasts — a mastectomy — and the altering of the genital region, known as “bottom” surgery. Examples of bottom surgery include: removal of the uterus, known as a hysterectomy removal of the vagina, known as a vaginectomy construction of a penis through metoidioplasty or phalloplasty In this article, we describe female-to-male gender-affirming surgeries. We also discuss recovery and what to expect from a transgender penis.

Audrey Hale’s mum urged her friends to join her in signing petitions to ‘Keep Guns Out of Schools” and “Make large-capacity gun magazines illegal’ on her Facebook page The mother of the woman identified as the Nashville school shooter vehemently campaigned to prevent mass shootings in the classroom. Audrey Hale’s mum urged her friends to join her in signing petitions to ‘Keep Guns Out of Schools” and “Make large-capacity gun magazines illegal’ on her Facebook page. Devout Christian Norma Fort Hale, a church worker, told her followers backing the campaigns was “so important” She made the pleas to her friends...

Transgender people will no longer be classified as “mentally ill” in Sweden, the country’s main national health authority has announced, in a decision widely criticized as overdue. Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare, or Socialstyrelsen, announced late on Friday that it would no longer automatically apply the diagnosis “gender dysphoria” to transgender patients. “…more than anything, this change has an important symbolic value,’ Kristina Bränd Persson, the organization’s head, said in a press release. “This is a completely reasonable change. Many divisions and categories are obsolete. For us, the decision is uncontroversial. We tend to follow the changes the...

Government employees who receive their health insurance coverage through Aetna will be eligible for sex-change operations next year, the company has announced. […] “Aetna has long been supportive of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community,” the company said last month. Aetna is among the first carriers in the federal insurance program that offers coverage for the surgeries. In addition, Kaiser, which enrolled some 240,000 federal workers last year, and the Foreign Service Benefit plan, covering members of the American Foreign Service Protective Association, also cover transgender services. …

In an academic article published last year, contraception advocate Sandra Fluke made the case that private health insurers should be required to pay for sex change operations. Fluke has become a vocal surrogate of the Democratic Party and is scheduled to address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday night. On Tuesday afternoon she appeared at a Planned Parenthood “Yes We Plan” rally outside the convention venue, where condoms in anti-Republican packaging were distributed. She thrust herself into the media spotlight in February when she told the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee that many of her Georgetown Law...

Large corporations follow city's lead in offering benefit - People who change their gender must undergo rigorous mental health evaluations and trial periods that last years, and they sometimes face stigma, but the biggest challenge for many is paying for the process. In the past few years, however, following the model of San Francisco, some of the world's largest employers have begun covering surgical procedures, including gender-reassignment surgery, and a host of other related care. When San Francisco became the first major American employer known to offer comprehensive coverage for gender transitions in 2001, some city officials feared that people...

An 18-year-old woman accused of pretending to be twin 12-year-old boys and simultaneously dating two adolescent girls will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine her competency to stand trial in San Mateo County Superior Court. Lakesia Michelle Mason pleaded not guilty in March to 13 counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14 for her alleged relationships with a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl. She denied the special allegations of substantial sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14 and allegations that the offenses were committed in more than one jurisdiction and that...