A judge in Pennsylvania gave the green light Wednesday for a
48-year-old to undergo gender-reassignment surgery after the
transgender woman’s parents stepped in to try to stop it.
Judge C. Theodore Fritsch Jr. dismissed Klaus and Ingrid
Kitzler’s request for the court to appoint a legal guardian and submit
Christine Kitzler to an independent medical exam, The Associated Press
reports.
Christine, who was born Christopher but identifies as
female, lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and has been working with
a Philadelphia-area surgeon in preparation for her surgery.
She was expected to go through with the procedure Tuesday until her parents drove from their home in Ohio to try and stop it.
They won a temporary injunction, but the surgeon was
expected to perform the procedure Wednesday night after the judge ruled
against the parents.
“The procedure is barbaric and they want to do it tonight,”
Christine’s father, Klaus, said after the ruling, according to the AP.
“Why the rush? They should be ashamed of themselves.”
The parents argued that Christine was not mentally competent to consent to the surgery.
Court papers they filed in the case said Christine suffers
from mild retardation, suicidal thoughts and other medical conditions
that would make the surgery too risky, KYW News reports.
The parents’ attorney, Julia Morrow, told the judge that
Christine was likely too easily swayed by the surgeon’s wishes and
pointed out that she had a history of making bad decisions like allowing
marijuana to be grown in her home during college.
Christine acknowledged a history of depression as well as a
period of drug and alcohol abuse, but, she said, she was making the
decision about the surgery with a clear mind.
“It's barbaric to keep me this way, not to take this risk,”
Christine told the AP. “Then I suffer and I go back to drinking and
that's barbaric. I can't maintain being a sober man, being happy,
because it hasn't happened. It can't happen. I don't have a choice.”
Testifying in court, Klaus said he was primarily concerned
about his child’s health and would drop his opposition to the surgery if
an independent psychiatrist deemed her fit to decide on her own.
“I accept it, but I want to stop it,” Klaus told the judge.
“I would love to have a son back who goes to church with us on Sunday
mornings.”
The father reportedly used male-gender pronouns and referred
to Christine as “his son” while talking on the stand. The judge asked
him at one point to switch to female or gender-neutral pronouns and
Klaus then reportedly switched to referring to Christine as “that
person.”
Angela Giampolo, a Philadelphia gay and transgender rights
advocate and attorney, represented Christine in court. She said she
understood how important the surgery was to Christine.
“Transgender individuals who are denied medical care commit
suicide at a rate of 60 percent if they are denied their surgery,”
Giampolo told KYW.
The judge said that while recognizing a history of
depression, Christine had testified to being sober for three years and
demonstrated an ability to understand her own decisions.
Christine had earned a liberal arts degree from Ohio
University, and she noted that she had identified as female as early as
her teenage years. She even dressed as a woman in college and called
herself "Chrissy" on her college diploma.
Christine said after the ruling that she was pleased with
the judge’s decision and ready to go ahead with the Wednesday night
surgery.
“I might for die,” she told KYW. “But it’s worth dying. I would rather die than live the way I was.”
Her parents, she said, have had a daughter for a long time, they just haven’t recognized it.
“They don’t have a son, they have a daughter and now I’ll have the parts too,” she said.
Sources: AP via ABC News, KYW News
Photo credit: Tim Evanson/Flickr, CBS Philly screenshot via Raw Story
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