A member of the Mexico City Congress has proposed a reform to the city’s health laws to make sex change surgery free in public hospitals.

Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) Deputy Gabriela Quiroga Anguiano, herself a transgender woman, said the reform would allow public hospitals to offer vaginoplasty (removal of the vagina), metoidioplasty (conversion of the clitoris into a penis) or phalloplasty (removal of the penis), as well as all necessary follow-up attention.

“A person’s sense of self is not determined by chromosomes, sexual organs, sex assigned at birth, or initial gender roles, so neither are one’s identity or abilities restricted by what society says is masculine or feminine,” said the legislator.

“We have taken important steps in giving attention to the transsexual population, such as funding for hormone treatment and name changes on birth certificates, as well as defending their rights in order to prevent discrimination.”

She recalled Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum’s announcement of the construction of a hospital for the treatment of the trans population and acknowledged that such surgeries could be carried out there, but said she didn’t want the services to be limited to one such institution.

“We would end up causing discrimination,” she said.

Quiroga emphasized that in the last 20 years, Mexico City has taken it upon itself to defend the rights of the most vulnerable sectors of its population, such as by recognizing same-sex marriage.

In accordance with the Mexican Institute of Sexology, a person can have sexual reassignment surgery after receiving two years of psychotherapy and hormone therapy.

The average cost for the surgery is 500,000 pesos (US $25,500).

Quiroga said that such treatment should be carried out by the necessary personnel and under quality conditions so that no one suffers any negative consequences.

Sources: El Universal (sp), Animal Político (sp)