Associated Baptist Press (ABP), Posted: 2/4/2010, 11:09 AM
A woman who battled the IRS over a tax deduction for the costs of her sex-change operation says she feels like she won a victory for all transgender people. Rhiannon O'Donnabhain (oh-DON'-oh-vin), who was born a man, sued the Internal Revenue Service in 2007 after the agency rejected a $5,000 deduction for about $25,000 in medical expenses associated with the sex-change surgery, finding it was a cosmetic procedure and not medically necessary. On Tuesday, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that O'Donnabhain should be allowed to deduct the costs of her treatment for gender-identity disorder, including sex-reassignment surgery and hormone treatments. ''The tax court has spoken for my community and has supported my community by saying that this is a proper medical deduction, much the same as an appendectomy or open heart surgery,'' O'Donnabhain said in an interview Wednesday. ''It was a proper medical deduction, and it certainly is not cosmetic surgery as the IRS contended,'' she said.

Los Angeles Times, Posted: 1/28/2010, 2:14 PM
The world's second pregant man, Scott Moore, is set to give birth to a baby boy next month, according to reports. Moore and his partner, Thomas, were both born as women, but have undergone surgery to change their physical orientation. Scott (born Jessica), 30, and Thomas (born Laura), also 30, live as a married couple in California. The two met at a 2005 support group for transgender men and have been together since 2007. Thomas has two kids, Gregg, 12, and Logan, 10, from a relationship he had with a female partner who later passed away. Thomas started taking testosterone in 1999, and his 44GG breasts removed in 2004, had a hysterectomy, and had a penis made out flesh from his thigh attached. The couple is now expecting a baby boy next month, who they've decided to name Miles.

365gay.com, Posted: 1/26/2010, 2:34 PM
A Michigan secretary of state candidate has transgender rights on his agenda – the rollback of transgender rights, that is. Paul Scott, currently a Republican state representative, said in his announcement of candidacy for the position that he plans to reverse a policy that allows transgender individuals to change their gender on state-issued identification. “I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance,” Scott wrote on his Web site. According to The Grand Rapids Press, the policy dates to 2005. At that time, Michigan’s American Civil Liberties Union and Transgender Michigan worked jointly with the Secretary of State’s office to ensure transgender individuals can identify their chosen gender on the state’s driver’s licenses and ID cards.

New York Times, Posted: 1/25/2010, 9:06 AM
Katherine used to be Miguel. Olin had a girl’s name. And in October, Robert Ira Schnur, 70, became Roberta Iris Schnur, a Manhattan retiree with magenta lipstick and, she noted the other day, chipped silver nail polish. “I wasn’t like other men,” she said. Theirs are among hundreds of names a Manhattan court has changed over the last few years for transgender New Yorkers. That tally, specialists in the relatively new field of transgender law say, may make the borough’s workaday Civil Court one of the country’s biggest official name swappers — male names for female, vice versa and ambiguous. Changing a name might seem like a minor matter for those who are changing their gender identities and, for some, facing challenges like finding knowledgeable doctors, trying hormones and experimenting with painful hair-removal procedures. But many who have gone through the switch say a name change sends an important message to the world, a message solidified and made official with a court’s approval.

TMZ, Posted: 6/11/2009, 4:48 PM
Chastity Bono, civil rights advocate, journalist, author and musician, is in the early stages of changing his gender -- transitioning from female to male. Bono, the child of legendary entertainers Sonny and Cher, began the process earlier this year, shortly after his 40th birthday. "Yes, it's true -- Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity," confirmed Bono's publicist, Howard Bragman. "He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago

Posted: 2/1/2009, 1:26 PM
The Registry of Motor Vehicles has quietly reversed a policy from former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney that advocates said made it nearly impossible for transgender people to change their gender designation on driver’s licenses and state identification cards. “We are pleased that the RMV enacted a policy that’s consistent with medical guidelines and policies in other states,” said Marc Solomon, executive director of MassEquality, an advocacy group for equal marriage rights. In a Jan. 21 letter to Solomon, Registrar Rachel Kaprielian wrote that transgender people no longer need to present medical proof of sex reassignment surgery or amended birth certificates in order to change the gender designation on driver’s licenses and state identification cards. Under the new policy, a gender marker can be changed by the applicant submitting an updated application and a gender designation change form.

CBS News, Posted: 9/9/2008, 3:04 PM
Trinidad looks pretty much like any small town. Home to about 10,000 people, it's tucked in the Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado. Mayor Joe Reorda says it's a "live and let live" kind of place. As a local doctor it's Marci Bowers' job to care, but she's not your typical small-town doc. So what's so special about Doctor Bowers? Before she was Doctor Marci Bowers she was Doctor Mark Bowers. In 1998, Dr. Bowers underwent sexual reassignment surgery - a "sex change" operation. And now today she performs that very same surgery on hundreds of patients every year, right here in Trinidad. In 2003, she took over from Dr. Stanley Biber who started the nation's first private practice for gender reassignment surgery back in 1969. And so Trinidad, Colorado came to be known as the "sex-change capital of the United States."

Agence France Presse (AFP), Posted: 3/27/2008, 1:32 PM
Gay activists in Thailand are joining with worried parents to urge doctors to stop castrating minors who want to take the first step toward a sex change. Leading gay activist Nathee Teerarojanapong said he and a group of parents will submit a letter to Thailand's Medical Council urging stricter controls on private clinics that castrate teenagers. Underage boys who hope eventually to have sex change operations are increasingly seeking castrations as a first step toward becoming women, he said. The boys believe that in doing so their bodies will not develop masculine features so their appearance will be more feminine when they save enough money for the complete gender reassignment surgery.

Associated Press (AP), Posted: 3/1/2008, 12:34 PM
A judge yesterday granted a hearing to a convicted murderer who says she's being denied medical treatment in prison as she awaits a ruling in her bid for sex change surgery. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ordered a March 13 hearing in the case of Michelle Kosilek, formerly known as Robert. Kosilek asked for the hearing after claiming she'd been denied hair removal treatment and access to a specialist to discuss testosterone levels. She said as a result her body is becoming more masculine. Kosilek sued the Department of Correction in 2000, saying its refusal to allow her to have sex-change surgery violated the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. After Wolf ruled in 2002 that Kosilek was entitled to treatment for gender identity disorder – but didn't order sex-reassignment surgery. Kosilek sued in 2005, saying the treatments weren't enough.

BBC, Posted: 2/27/2008, 3:16 PM
Homosexual relationships are banned in Iran, but the country allows sex change operations and hundreds of men have elected for surgery to change their lives. "He wants to kill me. He keeps telling me to come home so he can kill me. He had put rat poison in my tea." For Ali Askar, at age 24, the decision to become a woman came at a heavy cost. His father threatened to kill him if he went ahead with surgery. Now renamed Negar, she says she would not have had the operation if she did not live in Iran. "If I didn't have to operate, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't touch God's work." But as Ali, he felt he had no identity.