[frice2000]

IT IS elective surgery. Wikipedia (yes yes evil source I could find another placed to define it easily in pretty much the same terms) defines elective surgery as: surgery that is not urgently required due to an emergency. Which it is not. You're NOT going to die directly from not having any single part of a sex change operation. Those affected can be depressed, hate their life, and their body but the condition itself is not life threatening. I have no doubt those who take part in that definitely feel it is necessary and it is for their own psychological well being and props to them for doing what they feel they have to as it takes I'm sure a lot of courage for them. But society paying for it when that money can be used to benefit so many other groups of people feels forgive the overly dramatic term here, reprehensible. Again, doesn't mean I don't think it should be done or that the people having the surgeries done are reprehensible in the least but taking away money from other health concerns for this is wrong. It's plastic surgery. Yes an advanced form of plastic surgery to treat a severe psychological condition but still plastic surgery.