Appeals court upholds sex change for Mass. inmate

http://bostonherald.com/ ^ | 01/17/2014 | Associated Press

[massmike]

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a judge's ruling granting a taxpayer-funded sex change operation for a transgender inmate serving a life sentence for a murder conviction, saying receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected "even if that treatment strikes some as odd or unorthodox."

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled in 2012 that the state Department of Correction must provide sex reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, who was born Robert Kosilek and is serving a life sentence for the killing of his wife in 1990.

Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick had no immediate comment on the appeals court ruling or whether a further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was possible, a spokeswoman said. The Department of Correction was reviewing the court decision.

Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders said that in a civilized society there's "a baseline of care that has to be provided to all prisoners, including prisoners who are transgender."

"We hope that Michelle will now get the treatment that she desperately needs," said Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project.

[ilovesarah2012]

Where will they draw the line? Apparently no where.

[Still Thinking]

[eyeroll]

[muir_redwoods]

Carve him a lady part and send him back to the men’s prison. Karma.

[Still Thinking]

[ZULU]

Wait a minute. These idiots are supporting a medical program that will deny senior citizens heart transplants and knee replacements, but they are willing to spend tax-payer dollars on a fruitcake murderer in a prison?

Outrageous.

[MortMan]

How much money does buying a small, dull hatchet take?

[Flavious_Maximus]

A single judge, all by himself, has ruled that a sex change is now a universal right that MUST be paid for by other people. This kind of crap will continue until the U.S. dollar is no longer the worlds reserve currency.

[Pollster1]

By exactly the same reasoning, mentally disturbed individuals with Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) have a constitutional right to have their limbs amputated if they think that's what they need. This judge is an idiot (like most liberals).

[doc1019]

receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right

Under what part of the Constitution? And what part of this medical procedure is necessary?

I guess we will next be reading about hundreds of prisoners wanting sex reassignment treatment on our dime.

[jazusamo]

Outrageous...If U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf and U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judges O. Rogeriee Thompson and William Kayatta Jr. feel that anyone should pay for this perverts sex change, other than itself, it should be them and not taxpayers who should foot the bill.

[Vesparado]

Can anyone explain to me why this procedure was medically necessary? Seems to me it is elective and the inmate should wait until he get’s out in order to procure the service -— at his expense.

[JoeFromSidney]

This is insane. There is no such thing as "gender reassignment surgery" or "sex change surgery." At the level of genes and chromosomes, he's a man. After the surgery he'll be a mutilated man.

When someone think's he's Napoleon, we give him psychiatric treatment. But when some guy thinks he's a woman, we carve him up. Absolute nonsense.

[Pearls Before Swine]

If there there were justice, since there is no death penalty in MA, he will become someone’s wife in prison and experience marital violence.

[headstamp 2]

“saying receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected”

And how is this medically necessary? Will the POS die without it?

Was the murder he committed necessary?

[so_real]

receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected

As a compassionate person, I would not advocate withholding "medically necessary treatment". Still ... where exactly in the Constitution is the right to medical treatment granted? And what series of events could make genital mutilation medically "necessary". Someone got his law degree from a Cracker Jack box. Kosilek was born a man, murdered his wife as a man, was convicted as a man, and has been serving his time as a man. The judge who advocates spending tax payer dollars on this ridiculousness should be removed from the bench.

[headstamp 2]

Murder your wife and get a free sex change operation paid for by taxpayers.

They should have let the POS go free. He’d be dead by now anyway.

[madprof98]

Where will they draw the line? Apparently no where.

"They" are not drawing any lines at all. They are erasing all the lines as fast as they possibly can. It's time "we" drew some lines, though--like lines to separate ourselves from them.

[BykrBayb]

Why is elective surgery at tax payer expense a constitutionally protected right for convicted murderers, but medically necessary care is not provided to disabled military vets even when they pay extra for TriCare, over and above the blood they’ve shed?

[Lockbox]

So if ‘receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected’ how do they implement the ‘death panel’ under ObamaCare?