Minnesota Judge Rules Taxpayers Must Pay for Gender Reassignment Surgery

A Minnesota judge has ruled that a transgender man can have his gender reassignment surgery paid for by citizens' tax dollars.

 

According to LifeSiteNews.com, District Court Judge William Leary ruled that sex changes should be covered under Medicaid, meaning that taxpayers will incur the cost of these surgeries.
The case was brought before Judge Leary by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who sued the state on behalf of Evan Thomas, a 64-year-old biological woman who is living as a man, taking sex change drugs, receiving counseling to transition into a man, and says getting gender reassignment surgery is “a matter of life and death.”
Judge Leary’s ruling in the case is consistent with the Obama administration’s changes to the Affordable Care Act which forces states to include gender reassignment surgery in their Medicaid plans.
“Th(is) district court order brings the state into compliance with (Obama's) federal rule, and ensures the department may provide this service to Minnesotans,” read a statement from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Thomas said the surgery was necessary because “feeling you are in the wrong body can be devastating.” He admitted he had experienced depression and suicidal thoughts, adding that he has felt like he was in the wrong body since he was an adolescent.
It remains to be seen whether the incoming Trump administration will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as they promised to do on the campaign trail. If ObamaCare is repealed and replaced this mandate could be changed.