Gender, Sexual Preference, and Health Care

[silversliver]

The Southern Poverty Law Center has an article on the status of transgendered individuals. The article specifically discusses the high and increasing rates of violence in Washington, D.C

Comments

[jehanna]

This entire trend worries the hell out of me too. It's another reason I'm wanting to move back to MA on top of all the others: while not perfect, the odds are slightly better that we won't run into this quite so much.

When I choose doctors, I broach the issue right away so there won't be any ugly surprises later. "I'm queer, is that going to be a problem for you?" So far I haven't run into any problems. Neither have I run into pharmacy issues yet. But I try to choose the latter based on whose policies are most sane.

As you note, the problem of course is for women who live in areas where there really aren't any choices and who can't move someplace else. For them, I fear it's going to keep getting worse before it gets better. Nobody ever does anything until loads of people start dying or some other massive crisis occurs, it seems.

[silversliver]

Fortunately, I go to the university health center in which employees must follow non-discrimination policies which are more stringent than the state's. The professionals there make a concerted effort to advertise their reproductive health services, and I believe will preemptively dispense emergency contraception so you can already have it when the emergency happens. I imagine it's a different world 30 minutes' drive down the road in the towns with 200 people and one stop sign. I know for sure it's a different world in Kansas.