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  • Essay / The American healthcare system and the rights of trans people

    The health rights of trans people are becoming increasingly important in the United States; not only is there a push for coverage of hormones and surgery, but also an overhaul of how we approach our health care in general. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “Transgender people face massive and systemic discrimination within the healthcare system. From instances of humiliation and degradation to outright refusal to provide care, the healthcare system presents a minefield of discrimination for transgender people seeking access to care” (TLDEF, 2014). Currently, you must be diagnosed with gender identity disorder (GID) by a doctor. the therapist must receive hormone injections and other treatments. Asking a person to admit that there is something mentally wrong with them is humiliating and degrading. Rather than experiencing abuse and humiliation, many trans* people seek other ways to receive treatment. This is undoubtedly linked to the increasing number of trans* people, particularly trans* women, who are being diagnosed with HIV and AIDS. 2.64 percent of trans people are infected with HIV, more than four times the national average rate of 0.6 percent in the general population. (Moskowitz, 2010). “Where transgender people cannot access health care in a safe and non-discriminatory manner, they often find what they need outside the traditional health system. The use of “street” hormones, with little guidance or medical oversight, is one way transgender people get what they need when they opt out of the traditional healthcare system. These hormones are often dangerous and impure and can seriously harm those who use them. When such hormones are injected, the risk of transmission of HIV and other blood-borne pathogens through needle sharing is omnipresent” (TLDEF, 2014). Trans* people often suffer from body dysphoria, a chronic mental illness in which the person experiences an incongruity between how they perceive their body and how it is in reality. “For trans people, this can (but does not always) include varying degrees, permutations and combinations of feelings and discomfort around the unwanted presence of breasts and the desire for a body. penis, testicles and a masculine and virilized body by many trans men, or the unwanted presence of a penis and testicles and the desire for breasts and a less virilized and more feminine body by many trans women” ( American Trans Man, 2012). It is important not to think that a trans* person is not born one way and becomes another. For a trans* person, they have always been the gender they identify with, but they just don't have a body that fits them. Research has widely demonstrated that members of the LGBT+ community are more prone to anxiety and depression. An alarming figure: 41% of trans* people in the United States have attempted suicide. Being misgendered can often be triggering and upsetting for a trans* person. “LGBT people face: Higher rates of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and phobic disorders, suicidal tendencies, self-harm and substance use among LGBT people. A higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than heterosexual people. Young LGBT and trans people face risk.