Ontario Resumes Paying For Sex Change Surgery

Ontario, Canada (AHN) - Ontario will resume shouldering the sex change surgery of residents after it was ordered by the province's Human Rights Commission to compensate three men whose sex change process were halted in the middle.

Since 1971, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan covered sex reassignment procedures, but in 1998 the Progressive Conservative government excluded sex change surgeries from medical procedures to be funded by the OHIP.

Health Minister George Smitherman, who announced the resumption Thursday, said he expected only between 8 to 10 Ontarians would avail annually of the insurance coverage for that particular operation. The high cost, estimated at $200,000 a year, is due to the extensive psychological evaluation needed before undergoing the procedure.

Smitherman admitted the resumption could generate controversy since other rare and life-threatening ailments require more funding. "I think that people should be careful not to use what is $200,000 on a $40.2 billion health budget as an excuse to try a bit of 'them and us' conversation'," the Toronto Star quoted the health minister.

Meanwhile, also expected to generate controversy is a recommendation for Plan B, an emergency contraceptive drug, to be displayed on drugstore shelves instead of being hidden behind the counter. Plan B prevents pregnancy when taken orally within three days from unprotected sex. It's generic name is levonorgestrel.