St Andrew’s on The Terrace welcomes the news that gender affirmation surgery has had the financial cap on it lifted away.
We have heard the stories of how long it would take under the existing cap for those in transition to get the surgery they need. The timelines were ridiculous. People were looking at only being able to get that surgery when they reached old age.
It is our impression that trans men and women find the transition from male to female or female to male is a tough enough journey without obstacles being placed in their way. We are thrilled Julie Anne Genter and James Shaw have seen fit to make this enquiry into how this could be possible and then made this decision to enact that move. We congratulate them on their insight.
The mark of a humane government is that it assists those most vulnerable in our society. The trans community is one of our most vulnerable communities even though it is full of extremely courageous brave men and women taking bold steps to follow their own truth. We here at St Andrew’s support them in their transition and are glad this opening up of the surgical route has happened.
This is a contrast to the violence towards the transgender community world wide. We invite anyone who wants to come to the St Andrew’s on The Terrace’s third annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Gathering at St Andrew’s on Sunday, November 18 at 10am. Here we commemorate those of the trans community who have been killed worldwide and stand in solidarity with the community. All are welcome, cis and trans, gay, straight, bi and those who are queer and questioning – the whole lgbtqi community and those who love and support them.
Susan Jones (Rev Dr)
Senior Minister
St Andrew’s on The Terrace
