Two Fla. Government Employees Sue State for Not Providing Coverage for ‘Sex Change’ Procedures

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Two men who identify as female, and who work for state employers, have filed suit as their government insurance plan does not cover “sex change”-related procedures.

“Gender-affirming care is medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria, a medical condition codified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases,” the legal complaint, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), reads.

“The State’s categorical exclusion of medically necessary gender-affirming care in all state plans constitutes unlawful sex  discrimination in violation of Title VII and the Equal Protection Clause,” it states.

The case centers around a 62-year-old University of Florida veterinary biological scientist and a former Naval aircraft electrician who goes by the name Jami Claire, as well as a 38-year-old attorney with a Tallahassee public defender’s office who goes by the name Kathryn Lane.

According to the lawsuit, Claire’s wife and children opposed his identification as a woman and choice to take female hormones, and the marriage ended up in divorce. Years later, in 2016, he began openly presenting himself as a woman while obtaining counseling from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Claire began undergoing hormone replacement, hair electrolysis and augmentation mammoplasty, but learned that the State does not cover the procedures and he paid out of pocket. In December 2018, he applied for coverage for an orchiectomy, but was advised that the state plan does not cover “gender reassignment or modification services.”

This past June, Claire filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and was granted a Right to Sue letter.

Similarly, Lane began taking female hormones, sought facial hair removal and underwent an augmentation mammoplasty to conform his body to appear more feminine. He inquired about coverage and was informed that the State plan excludes gender identity-related procedures. Lane consequently paid out of pocket.

He now seeks to undergo facial feminization surgery and has sued after receiving a denial letter for coverage and obtaining a Right to Sue letter.

“Despite …. Lane’s consistent participation in psychotherapy since 2012, various psychotropic regimens and transcranial magnetic stimulation, [he] persistently experiences depressed mood, self-esteem deficits, disgust and dissatisfaction with [his] appearance, suicidal idealation, fatigue, anxiety, fear and a pervasive sense of hopelessness,” the lawsuit states.

The joint legal complaint requests an injunction ordering the State to allow coverage of the procedures, and seeks compensatory damages for “emotional distress.”

Read the lawsuit in full here.

As previously reported, 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 feelings and 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. It is known in Christianity as the doctrine of regeneration and is a working of the Holy Spirit.

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

“Bitter experience teaches that the imprisoning net clings too tightly to be stripped from our limbs by our own efforts. Nay rather, the net and the captive are one, and he who tries to cast off the oppression which hinders him from following that which is good is trying to cast off himself,” also wrote the late preacher and Bible commentator Alexander Maclaren.

“But to men writhing in the grip of a sinful past, or paralyzed beyond writhing and indifferent, because [they are] hopeless, or because they have come to like their captivity, comes one whose name is ‘The Breaker,’ whose mission it is to proclaim liberty to the captives, and whose hand laid on the cords that bind a soul, causes them to drop harmless from the limbs and sets the bondsman free.”

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