MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Hospital is still under fire from the LGBTQ+ community for cancelling gender-affirming surgeries.
Patients who had surgeries cancelled are losing hope, but former patients told ABC24 they’re not surprised.
Tuesday, just one day after some gender-affirming surgeries were scheduled to take place, former Methodist patient Kayla Gore is speaking out.
“Methodist, I don’t think it’s all the way clear from the top to the bottom, what the policy is about people when they come in,” Gore said. “They stated the policy was that 'we identify people from the previous visit whatever identification they present,' and I was like that doesn’t make me feel better. So, I asked to speak to the office manager and she informed me they’re supposed to ask for identification and that’s how they’re supposed to identify you.”
ABC24 was informed of Methodist cancelling transgender surgeries and having no plan to reschedule them, all due to alleged employee hesitancy treating transgender patients. We have reached out to the surgery group and to Methodist, both have refused to provide any further information on cancelled surgeries.
“In the state of Tennessee, we’ve been in this situation before, where our bodies are being brought into question of how we can use our bodies. And now it’s being brought into question how we can change our bodies that fit us,” Gore said. “It’s gonna cause a major problem here in Memphis for trans people.”
Methodist’s decision to cancel surgeries is leaving transgender patients with no where nearby to get gender-affirming surgery. Gore said this isn’t the first time something like this has set back transgender patients.
“So, it’s gonna cause a major effect on trans people here in Memphis,” Gore said. “It’s gonna take us back 10 years, where trans people had to go to St. Louis and now we’re having to go to Nashville just to get trans-affirming care.”
While Methodist healthcare is a private organization, patients who are being left without surgery argue they’re being discriminated against. As of Tuesday, the Tennessee ACLU has agreed to take up the issue.