Elizabeth Warren says that transgender inmates are “entitled” to free sex reassignment surgery.
At Thursday’s LGBTQ town hall hosted by CNN, the presidential hopeful insisted that “gender-affirming surgery” was both “important and the appropriate medical care” for transgender prison inmates, whose healthcare is taxpayer-funded.
She also announced plans to abolish solitary confinement, end the policy of assigning prisoners to facilities based on their biological sex.
RT reports: At issue was her 2012 statement about proposed surgery for a trans inmate, in which she said, “I don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars.”
Asked to “speak to [her] evolution” on the matter by moderator Chris Cuomo, Warren called this statement a “bad answer” and begged forgiveness.
“I believe that everyone is entitled to medical care and medical care that they need, and that includes people who are transgender, who – it is the time for them to have gender-affirming surgery.”
Warren wasn’t the only candidate at the town hall to promise the moon to the LGBT community – former vice president Joe Biden, currently neck-and-neck with Warren in the polls, said he would curtail foreign aid to countries that are not LGBT-friendly (one wonders if he’ll include Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality can be punishable by death).
The Massachusetts senator’s about-face on trans inmates received applause inside the town hall, but not everybody was impressed.
“Is this standup comedy or something? We do need a prison reform, but that ain’t it,” one person tweeted.
Others suggested Warren pay for the inmates’ surgery herself, saying “She will then feel good about it, but I will feel better.”
Many took issue with her suggestion that gender reassignment surgery was a “right” and reminded her that prison was meant to be a punishment, not a wish-fulfillment center.
Niamh Harris