A court in Ontario must rule on whether Canadian taxpayer money should be used to pay surgeons in Texas to perform a “phallus-preserving vaginoplasty” on a non-binary Canadian man. The surgery would leave the man’s penis intact while creating a faux vagina—using scrotal or intestinal tissue—in the space between his penis and anus.
The man, 33 and identified only by the initials KS in court documents, believes that the Canadian government is financially responsible for validating his non-binary identity. He told the courts that he does not feel fully male or female, and that not having the penis-preserving surgery is akin to conversion therapy, a term that was recently redefined in Canada to include any failure to validate a patient’s professed gender. Violations are punishable under Canada’s Criminal Code.
Speaking to media, the Crane Center in Texas quoted a cost of upwards of $70,000 USD for the surgery.
The story was first reported by the National Post last September, when a review board ruled against the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and approved the surgery, which OHIP had previously denied on the basis of being “experimental.”
The review board cited guidelines from the now-disgraced World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) in their decision.
After losing the appeal, OHIP took the case to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice. The case was argued before the courts early this year, and a ruling is pending.
Activist organization Egale Canada argued in KS’s favour before the courts. In written submissions, they claimed that “[h]ealth-care providers shouldn’t make assumptions about what care may be medically necessary.” They claimed that denying KS his surgery to have both a penis and a faux-vagina constitutes discrimination on the basis of gender identity, which is protected under Canadian human rights codes.
KS’s demand for free cosmetic surgery comes as Canada is experiencing a healthcare crisis, with citizens experiencing long surgical wait times, physician and nurse shortages, and access to care. Many Canadians opt to pay privately for surgeries outside of the country, rather than wait for government-funded care.
Regarding KS’s battle for government-funded customized genitals, social media users have expressed shock over the case making it to Canadian courts.
“How can this even be a real headline and not something out of a crazy sick sci-fi porn?” asked X (formerly Twitter) user @LesleyL07325085.
“How is it that insulin is not covered, but elective gender reassignment surgery is?” questioned @quappellecomm.
