France has demedicalized transsexuality by taking it out of its list of mental disorders.
I don't know if this is just a net or an unadulterated positive for French trans people, considering the French have one of the best universal health care systems in the world, and such a declassification could stop coverage of related medical procedures and help.
The Association of Homosexualities and Socialism, a French LGBT org, is quoted in La Provence as saying (translationed by me):
The Association of Homosexualities and Socialism (HES) also "hailed" this announcement, which they said responds to "a long-standing demand" of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans community in France. For HES, it's "time, right now, to move on from symbolic to concrete actions, in fighting the violence and discrimination trans people face."
Inter-LGBT, another LGBT org, said:
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Alex, I notice when you quote from French news sources you usually don't link to them. I'm sure I'm not Bilerco's only bilingual reader, and I'd love to be able to link to the full original articles if that's possible. Keep up the good work, though! I'm here every day.
You're right, my linking wasn't good this time.
Usually, if I find an article through another blog, I link to them so that people have to click through them to get to the article. That raises awareness of the other blog, gives them clicks, and gives them credit for finding the article, while still giving readers a chance to click-through and read the original source.
I linked Trans Group Blog that way here because I followed a link on their blog to find the original article. I should have added in a "via" at the end to give them credit verbally.
I mean, they're doing awesome work over there, and anyone interested in this article would probably be interested in their site. So, y'know....
I don't know if this became a habit, though....
My only hope is that they continue to provide mental health care for transgender people that need/want it and both HRT and surgical procedures for transgender people that need them.
I'm pretty sure you don't need trans-specific coverage for related mental health counseling. That includes stuff like depression, anxiety, etc. that all people can develop. In fact, I know people here in the states that get disability and medicaid based on these other things. Don't forget trans is excluded from the ADA anyway.
The medical side, hormones and surgery, would have to be covered under a medical diagnosis as soon as it was removed, a sort of fait accompli. The AMA said it is necessary, and if the psych industry drops the issue they will be forced to pick up the slack or eat their words. The mental things that accompany the condition would be covered under the normal provisions that all people use. So what do we have to lose?
Discussion of the issues, and a link to the French original.
And a lot more besides.