Man Who Identifies as Woman Sues Insurance Companies for Not Covering Facial Feminization Surgery

PORTLAND, Ore. — A man in Oregon who identifies as a woman has sued his government employer and its insurance companies for declining to cover facial feminization surgery that would make him appear more female to strangers.

The 59-year-old man, who goes by the name Christina Ketcham, says that others still refer to him as a man because of his appearance.

“Ms. Ketcham continues to be perceived by others as male,” the lawsuit states, according to The Oregonian. “Her facial features and the shape of her face frequently lead others to call Ms. Ketcham ‘sir,’ ‘mister’ or ‘he-she,’ and to treat her as a man.”

Ketcham has already undergone “bottom surgery” and hormone replacement therapy and has worked with a voice coach to sound more female. His doctors claims that obtaining facial surgery is necessary to treat his gender dysphoria.

The operation could include a facelift, an eyelid lift, rhinoplasty (alteration of the nose), and reduction of his facial bones.

Ketcham is suing his longtime employer, Clatsop County, as well as Citycounty Insurance Services and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon for denying coverage for his surgeries from 2016 to present.

He states that he is being discriminated against as his surgeries have been deemed “not medically necessary,” while the same surgeries are performed for others who have jaw deformities or ingrown eyelashes.

The denial is “a reflection of animus toward, or an intent to discriminate against,” those who identify as transgender, the lawsuit claims.

A representative for Regence told The Oregonian that the company supports providing “our members with comprehensive, medically necessary transgender services.”

As previously reported, Walt Heyer, a man who identified as a woman for eight years until he became regenerated by the Spirit of God, wrote an article in 2017 remarking that allowing those with gender dysphoria to conform their bodies to their psychology does not solve the underlying problem.

“Too many U.S. medical practitioners direct all gender-distressed people toward the extreme measures of conforming the body to the mind, rather than exploring the psychological issues that lie beneath the feelings,” he stated. “Giving powerful hormones and recommending radical surgeries without screening for psychological issues first causes great harm to the patients and their families.”

“Many people who are regretful and suicidal followed to the letter the generally accepted treatment protocol of doctor-prescribed hormone therapy and genital surgery,” Heyer, who now helps those with sex-change regret, outlined. “It is not homophobic, transphobic, or bigoted to look at the causes of dissatisfaction and suicide among the transgender population. Rather, it is a caring, heartfelt way to prevent dissatisfaction and suicides.”

While some view transgenderism as a medical condition, Christians believe the matter as a spiritual issue — one that stems from the same predicament all men everywhere face without Christ.

The Bible teaches that all are born with the Adamic sin nature, having various inherent inclinations that are contrary to the law of God, and being utterly incapable of changing by themselves.

Jesus outlined in John 3:5-7 that men must be regenerated by the second birth, and be transformed from being in Adam to being a new creation in Christ, or they cannot see the kingdom of Heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:45 states, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit.”

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