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Should getting a sex change be legal?

Should getting a sex change be legal?

  • Yes, it should be legal

    Votes: 75 87.2%

  • No, it should be illegal

    Votes: 10 11.6%

  • I don't know

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Total voters
    86
Goshin said:
Thank you. That is also my opinion...and until such time as some identifiable, inborn physiological (ie not psychological only) cause is identified that makes a person transgendered, I would have to consider it a form of mental illness.
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I may be wrong but I do believe there has been some tentative findings that show at least some with gender issues have neurological differences suggesting they, to put it very crudely, may have the wrong brain for their body.

I would say it is a lot easier to treat by changing the body than the mind.
 
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Kal'Stang said:
Why is this question even being asked?

The procedure harms no one. It is voluntary. Plastic surgery (which is basically what a sex change operation is) is not illegal. So whats the big deal?

If you want to ban it then every other form of non-necessary medical procedure should be banned. Including things like lasik surgery, straightening a broken nose, etc etc.
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You don't see chopping off body parts as doing any harm? Go to your doctor and tell her you want her to help you lose weight by having your left arm removed. See what she says.
 
Sanitas said:
Me and 2 of my friends had a conversation about this topic.

We all had different opinions. I thought that it should stay legal, but not necessarily encouraged. Another thought they were immoral, not a natural right, and technology shouldn't be advanced in this topic. Another thought there wasn't much wrong with it.

What is your opinion?
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immoral? wow. and why should it EVER be illegal?
 
I adopt the standard Libertarian viewpoint on this: What someone does to pursue happiness in their life only becomes a problem if they are infringing on another individual's rights.

Morally, I could care less. It's their body and it's not my place to enact restrictions to actions they can perform on their own body.
 
I adopt the standard Libertarian viewpoint on this: What someone does to pursue happiness in their life only becomes a problem if they are infringing on another individual's rights.

Morally, I could care less. It's their body and it's not my place to enact restrictions to actions they can perform on their own body.
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I agree that the government shouldn't be involved, and I don't even have any issue with the morality of wanting or asking for a sex change. I am not sure where I stand regarding the moral obligations of the doctors though.

If you were a doctor, would you perform any operation a patient asked for, including amputation, even if it wasn't medically necessary? If not, what would you think of a fellow doctor who cut off a patient's arm just because she asked to have it removed and could afford the operation?
 
Panache said:
If you were a doctor, would you perform any operation a patient asked for, including amputation, even if it wasn't medically necessary? If not, what would you think of a fellow doctor who cut off a patient's arm because she asked to have it removed and could afford the operation?
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Voluntary amputees exist. I see no problem with doctors performing these operations. All of these people seem much happier once they have these operations performed.

Voluntary Amputation | MetaFilter

NSFW http://www.bme.com/news/people/A10101/nohand/index.html
 
"Voluntary amputees exist." - EgoffTib

You seem to be attempting to justify one form of extreme behavior with another form of extreme behavior.

And I don't think the one justifies the other.
 
The Baron said:

You seem to be attempting to justify one form of extreme behavior with another form of extreme behavior.
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No, You may want to re-read my post. It seemed as though Panache was positing a hypothetical, so I was pointing out that such individuals exist.

And I don't think the one justifies the other.
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Congratulations? We all have our opinions, I'm glad you do, too.
 
Voluntary amputees exist. I see no problem with doctors performing these operations. All of these people seem much happier once they have these operations performed.
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Addicts seem happier when they have some heroin in their system. I similarly don't think that heroin should be illegal, and I don't see anything immoral about taking it. Heroin is destructive though, and I think pushing it with an awareness of that fact could be considered morally compromising.
 
Panache said:
Addicts seem happier when they have some heroin in their system. I similarly don't think that heroin should be illegal, and I don't see anything immoral about taking it. Heroin is destructive though, and I think pushing it with an awareness of that fact could be considered morally compromising.
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It's all subjective. Your morals are not my morals are not their morals. If these people are happy without a few fingers or a leg, who are we to tell them that we know what is best for their body and they do not?
 
"No, You may want to re-read my post. It seemed as though Panache was positing a hypothetical, so I was pointing out that such individuals exist." - EgoffTib

You're right. My bad.

I apologize.
 
Amatuer, armchair psychologists like The Baron and Jamesrage's opinion on whether this is a "mental illness" or not appeal to me about as much as Joe Six Pack who never played football in his life trying to tell me that their football opinion is more likely to be correct and accurate than Joe Gibbs or Bill Parcells.

There is absolutely no reason why the government should be involved in making this illegal. I have absolutely zero issue with a doctor that refuses to perform such procedures, I fully support that right. But it is not the right of the government to tell people what they can or can not do cosmetically with their body.
 
It's all subjective. Your morals are not my morals are not their morals. If these people are happy without a few fingers or a leg, who are we to tell them that we know what is best for their body and they do not?
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Perhaps you are right. As I have said, I don't think the government should be involved at all. The doctor certainly is involved though, and I think his/her responsibility is to "first, do no harm" as it were, and not to do whatever the patient will pay for.

I just think if someone goes up to a doctor and says "Hey, I will pay you $2000 to chop of my penis" if the doctor says "Sure thing! Let me go get meat cleaver!" that makes them a bit of a scumbag, and doesn't really demonstrate a genuine concern for their patient.
 
DrunkenAsparagus said:
Does your friend think that we should stone adulterers as well?
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What is the purpose of this comment, to denegrate religious people? It's quite obvious if you think you can hide behind the fact that you didn't say Bible, Christian, Jew or religion.
 
Sanitas said:
Me and 2 of my friends had a conversation about this topic.

We all had different opinions. I thought that it should stay legal, but not necessarily encouraged. Another thought they were immoral, not a natural right, and technology shouldn't be advanced in this topic. Another thought there wasn't much wrong with it.

What is your opinion?
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Is it currently illegal? Your first option implies a change to legal status.
 
American said:
What is the purpose of this comment, to denegrate religious people? It's quite obvious if you think you can hide behind the fact that you didn't say Bible, Christian, Jew or religion.
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Actually, I think his point was about the attitude was very old fashioned, like stoning adulterers(which by the way is not simply something that happened in the bible). Stopping and thinking before you post accusations might be a good idea for you.
 
"Amatuer, armchair psychologists like The Baron and Jamesrage's opinion on whether this is a "mental illness" or not appeal to me about as much as Joe Six Pack who never played football in his life trying to tell me that their football opinion is more likely to be correct and accurate than Joe Gibbs or Bill Parcells." - Zyphlin

1. The feeling is mutual.

2. It's a debate-site, this is what we do.

3. Speaking of "metal illness", now would be a good time to address yours.

Have a nice day!



:2wave:​


 
Redress said:
Actually, I think his point was about the attitude was very old fashioned, like stoning adulterers(which by the way is not simply something that happened in the bible). Stopping and thinking before you post accusations might be a good idea for you.
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Maybe he should stop and think about the meaning of his words. Maybe you should let him speak for himself.
 
Sanitas said:
Follow-up question:

Whether you think it should be legal or illegal, do you morally agree with sex changes?

(maybe in a unbiased situation where sex changes are not legal or illegal)
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Of course. It's none of my business what other people do to their body. Genetics aren't perfect. If someone feels more comfortable in their skin with different parts, more power to them.
 
The Baron said:
I could never understand how doctors could do this.

If you have someone with a perfectly healthy and functioning physical body and has a mind telling them that they are the wrong sex it seems to me that the problem is not with the body but with the mind.

It seems to me that you would then want to treat the mind with counseling, therapy, etc. and not alter the body.

But doctors have decided to ignore the root-cause of the problem (the mind) and mutilate what is healthy and normal (the body).

Apparently all of the money is in performing the surgery.
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It has nothing to do with the mind. Genetics are not a perfect science. It's their body and it's their business what they do with it.
 
jamesrage said:
So if someone claimed to be a duck trapped in a human's body then we should allows doctors to add prosthetic wings,feathers, duck and bill and anything to facilitate his fantasy that he is really a duck and have him legally declared a duck because it makes him happy and doesn't hurt anyone? Mentally ill people should not be exploited by greedy doctors and corrupt quacks. Regardless if he is still happy he is still mentally ill man but this time with a lot of modification done to his body that is going to be costly to reverse if he ever gets his sanity back.
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This argument is akin to the whole "If we allow gay marriage, then we will have to allow people to marry dogs, cats, etc." And how exactly are you qualified to give an assessment as to whether or not these people are mentally ill?
 
The Baron said:
1. The feeling is mutual.
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Feeling can't be mutual. I'm not the one trying to state that the majority of psyhcological opinion on the matter is 100% backwards and wrong, you are. You're the one saying its completely a mental disorder that should only be addressed with councelling and be "cured" through fixing the "mind".

In my analogy, I'd be the guy saying "I trust the opinion of Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcel's when it comes to coaching football". You'd be the one saying that your opinion is more correct then theirs.

I think you may not know what "mutual" means......
 
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"It has nothing to do with the mind." - Dr_Patrick

According to this article, the APA still list transgenderism as a mental disorder in the DSM.
 
The Baron said:
"It has nothing to do with the mind." - Dr_Patrick

According to this article, the APA still list transgenderism as a mental disorder in the DSM.
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I don't put too much stock in the APA considering that they used to list homosexuality as a mental disorder before 1974 as well. They will change it for transgendered people as well, I'm sure.
 
Dr_Patrick said:
I don't put too much stock in the APA considering that they used to list homosexuality as a mental disorder before 1974 as well. They will change it for transgendered people as well, I'm sure.
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Why wouldn't being transgendered be a disorder? There is a solution to the problem. Get a sex change.
 
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