In the field of gender-affirming care for the LBGTQ+ community, there are drastic solutions - controversial if it involves those unable to grant real informed consent - but there are also therapeutic benefits to minimally invasive procedures, write a group in Canadian Medical Association Journal, and taxpayers should fund those.
The paper discusses three domains of transition: legal (e.g., changing name), social (e.g. changing style) and medical (e.g gender reconstruction) and they note a survey finding that 59 percent reported being misgendered daily. They say the 2022 World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care Version 8 recommends that hair removal and facial surgeries, in addition to hormone therapy, are appropriate components of gender-affirming care. Although hormones and surgery are common in helping people transition, hair removal and facial transformation are important for many people in gender transition.
They are low-risk options and far more accessible than surgical care with long wait-lists. They can be complementary to other approaches. Taxpayers currently fund such procedures in two Canadian jurisdictions but the authors contend it should be implemented in all provinces and territories.
Citation: Katie Ross and Sarah Fraser, 'Minimally invasive procedures in gender-affirming care: the case for public funding across Canada' CMAJ August 14, 2023 195 (31) E1041-E1042; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221875
