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Filed under: In The News
Bradley Cooper, who turned 16 last week, wishes to be called Ria. He's been dressing as a girl since he was 12, borrowing his mother's lipstick and clothes from his three older sisters.
His wish may soon come true, as the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust, a public health care provider, is said to have agreed to pay for his £10,000 (about $14,000) sex change operation.
Cooper would be the youngest sex change patient to date, and there is plenty of controversy surrounding the topic -- not just because of his age, but also over the fact that the NHS would pay for the procedure with tax payers' dollars.
"When there are people dying of cancer who are told the drugs they need are too expensive, it is wrong to be funding less urgent procedures like this," Mark Wallance, from the TaxPayers' Alliance, tells the Daily Mail. "Saving lives should come at the very top of the list."But Cooper insists this surgery would be lifesaving to him, telling the newspaper, "[My life] won't be worth living unless I have that operation. The doctors have said I need the surgery for my own peace of mind."
Cooper has worked with a psychologist and was approved and moved to a waiting list, which could have him in surgery within 18 months.
This raises two questions: First, at 16 years old, is Cooper old enough to make this irreversible choice? And second, do you think the British government should be paying for the surgery?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-27-2010 @ 10:40AM
Liz Church said...This is rubbish. This story was originally published by the News of the world. We all know they fabricate stories to suit themselves. In this case, Ria will be going through several years of psychiatric assessment and according my source who is involved with the gender clinic there is realistically no way she'll have surgery before she's 19.
Yes, we pay for this because it's cheaper in the long run. The cost of surgery is the same as the cost of one year's psychiatric and welfare support. After transition which is mostly successful, these people can lead normal lives, work and pay tax. It's cost effective.
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2-11-2010 @ 6:50AM
thebutchieone2007 said...The story itself is bogus, "Ria' may want a sex change, fine. But not sex reassignment doctor will perform surgery on someone until they are over the age of 18. There are steps in this. At least 2 years of therapy, two years of hormones, a boob job and finally the sex change itself. That's how it goes. I wish tabloids would at least get their facts straight before posting this bull.
And no, this is elective surgery and insurance, no matter where you live, doesn't cover elective surgery.
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2-15-2010 @ 6:02PM
MOM_IN_OHIO said...I'm not sure a boy this young is ready for this kind of operation. It's not to judge him, but I'm sure we can remember that at that age, things were not always so clear.
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3-10-2010 @ 11:57AM
mwraddd said...Hello to all of the site administrators or visitors wish to be a friend
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3-11-2010 @ 1:22PM
julie kristine said...I do know that the British healthcare system is very slow and methodical. It is very likely that this young girl will be able to get her surgery once she moves up the waiting list.
The official Standards of Care, which the medical community follows, call for living at least 1 year as the other sex, routine psychological counseling and at least 1 year on hormones.
This youngster will not be the youngest-only in Britain. Kim Petras, a 16 year old German girl, has already had her surgery.
I know personally a family where their biological son has known his innate female gender since the age of 5. Now 12, she has been expressing a desire to alter her anotomy as soon as the medical system will allow it. She is now on medicine to slow or stop her puberty.
These kids who transition early in life, from what I have read and seen, know who they are and are very balanced. Given opposite sex hormones by age 16, and it is nearly impossible to tell that they were not born either female (male to female) or male (female to male transition). To put a a young person through the effects of the wrong puberty for them is harmful. The rate of suicide attempts for forcing these kids or people to live in the wrong body and gender is upwards of 30%.
Better for us as adults and medical providers to listen to the children. Kids, at least as far as their gender is concerned, know who they are at a very early age. Would it be better for them to 'hide it', go through the effects of puberty then spend ten of thousands later for less ideal results?
People, I believe, have the right to be who they are-be they gay, straight, or alternately gendered. Who would argue, (though I guess some would) that a gay young person should go to prom with an opposite sex friend and put on an act just to appease their peers or parents? We should all embrace and love our kids, and welcome their uniqueness and diversity.
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4-29-2010 @ 3:44PM
Lilsonic said...Hi I have to say I AGREE WITH JULIE .......We as british tax payers, who have paid our pounds worth into the NHS, who have children & want the best for our child in these situations should perhaps be heard/listen to these youngsters who know, they are different, feel they are in the wrong bodies, I'm a mother & have children, & if one of my children came to me with an issue of their gender & persued it to be true, then I would feel it would be saving a live !!
To me saving a live shouldn't mean that you are dieing, these young people are dieing on the inside, & to be honest by allowing these trapped people to be free by being who they really are is worth every ££ & we would have more balanced stable people, saved from going crazy.
5-28-2010 @ 4:22AM
sue said...No this is sickening. He should have been removed from his mother at an early age. The parents are odd and I feel very sorry for this child. No the Government should not way pay for any of his treatment. Treatment should only be for sick people who really need it and not for those having fun.
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