After a complaint was filed by parents and gay rights activists all castrations have been banned in Thailand until further notice. Fearing underage children were being castrated without parental consent in preparation for sex reassignment surgery the government banned the surgery.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 28,00.html

FlatBagger (imported) wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:49 am After a complaint was filed by parents and gay rights activists all castrations have been banned in Thailand until further notice. Fearing underage children were being castrated without parental consent in preparation for sex reassignment surgery the government banned the surgery.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 28,00.html

Did you see the price they charged for doing an Orchiectomy? $144 US? Sheesh! How did they do these with a chainsaw?

BTW do you have a larger version of your avitar? Or can you point me to a web link?

Yes, I'd like to get a copy of your avatar also, Flatbagger, if it's available.

I would like a copy also. I have looked for it but to no avail.

The article:

From correspondents in Bangkok

April 02, 2008 08:28pm

THAI health officials today banned doctors from performing castrations, pending an ethics review of complaints about minors undergoing the operation as the first step toward a sex change.

The ban on all castrations came after

FlatBagger (imported) wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:49 am parents and gay rights activists

last week filed a complaint that doctors were castrating underage boys.

They argue that boys should wait until they are 18 to receive the surgery

The Medical Council of Thailand, which sets ethical standards for doctors, is reviewing the practise and will develop guidelines for castrations, a health ministry official said.

"The ban will last until the Medical Council reaches a decision over the castrations," the official said.

"These castrations are unethical," he added.

The ban affects more than 10,000 hospitals and clinics, which could face closure if they violate it.

The boys hope that by removing their testicles, their bodies will not develop masculine features and they will appear more feminine when they eventually complete their gender reassignment surgery.

Most clinics require parental approval before performing castrations on minors, but the order bars the operation even with approval of parents.

Castration costs as little as 4000 baht ($144), a tiny fraction of the total cost of gender reassignment surgery.

Thailand is famously tolerant of transsexuals, known locally as "kathoey", or the third gender.

While they have traditionally been allowed roles in festivals and cabarets, they have in recent years sought to make inroads into mainstream society.

mrt (imported) wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:23 am Did you see the price they charged for doing an Orchiectomy? $144 US? Sheesh! How did they do these with a chainsaw?

No..the medical care here is on a par with the states. However, since the average citizen earns about $200 per month in wages it's quite possible.

I go to an endocrinologist in a private clinic and he charges $2 for an office visit.

"

FlatBagger (imported) wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:49 am all castrations have been banned in Thailand until further notice.

"

This is yet another case of the authorities punishing the innocent for the acts (or possibly only the ALLEGED acts of) a small guilty minority.

You can BET the cost of surgical castrations will go up considerably after this blows over.

I know my opinions are mine alone, and most people would not agree with me, (especially the "parents and gay rights groups" in Thailand) but I do honestly believe that a 14 year old transgender boy or girl DOES in fact know their real gender and should be given the option for chemical castration at minimum costs, and even full GRS after living in the desired gender for at least one year (15 years old).

They have banned the castrations of young boys wanting to be transgender.

I found the following eloquent comment from an obviously qualified writer published in Thailand Friday, where it is already tomorrow for a lot of us. Jetsada makes some insightful observations on the current news and on broader issues as well. I especially like the last paragraph, as it supports the liberal and brave support given by those much wiser than ol' NN who are the leaders here at eunuch.org.

Thailand – a more open, informed attitude to sexual identity, published April 4, 2008, in Thailand, by Jetsada Taesombat.

(Jetsada Taesombat is programme assistant at the Southeast Asian Consortium on Gender, Sexuality and Health, at the Centre for Health Policy Studies, Mahidol University. Self-identified as a male-to-female transgender, Jetsada's work involves the integration of gender and sexuality perspectives into public health policies; programme intervention; and advocacy.)

Castration of young boys is now a controversial issue being closely watched by society as a whole and debated by different groups. On April 1, the Medical Council issued a ban on all such operations, pending further deliberation. This article is not intended to support or oppose the ban, but to draw attention to the context that young Thai male-to-female transgenders live in.

Testicle removal has been a social phenomenon among Thai katoeys (transsexuals) for a number of years. The reason for last week's uproar was only because of its occurrence among youths, who are regarded in Thai society as being impressionable, vulnerable and easily led astray by fashions and trends. Many youths may misunderstand the situation and see "transgenderism" as a fad. But the irreversible procedure may later become nothing but a grave mistake.

This whole scenario follows an established routine. Thai society preaches to its younger members that they must obey rather than think and make rational decisions. This is also the case regarding drugs, teenage pregnancy or STDs and Aids. When problems arise, adults immediately point the finger of blame while ignoring the responsibility to educate and inform future generations that they can be responsible for their own life decisions.

Although some people are of the opinion that transgenderism is a mental disorder to be treated by hormone and surgical therapies, that definition, in my opinion, would also define mental illness in anyone who is unsatisfied with their body make-up and who takes supplementary vitamins or seeks surgical procedures to modify the way they look.

The wish to undergo castration among young boys is no different from the desire for good looks among their peers of both sexes. The pressure to look beautiful is imposed equally on everyone by an adult-controlled media. Witness all the slimming and fitness centres and clinics offering nose jobs and eye-lid operations, all catering to young people.

Deciding to go under the surgeon's knife, and especially for castration, is indeed exercising the right to control one's own body. However, the young would-be patient should be fully informed of the short- and long-term consequences of this irreversible operation, as well as the alternative options.

Such information must go far beyond medical facts, because the young patients will eventually have to leave the hospital bed and rejoin society. So it's important to bring in contextual-based knowledge about the reality of life as a katoey, the effects of hormone therapy - which they will have to take for the rest of their lives - and sex reassignment surgery, if desired. Their decisions - or co-decisions with parents, in the case of underage patients - based on fully informed consideration, should then be respected by society.

Having said that, there are very few studies concerning the life of Thailand's transgenders. Among the few that exist, some were based on transphobic prejudices. Largely neglected by the medical establishment, these people are left with little choice but to use their own bodies as guinea pigs for hormone and surgical therapies. Results - reliable or not - are taken as proof and become precious information that is shared, peer-to-peer, by word of mouth.

If in the end the Medical Council decides to ban testicle removal, underground clinics will most certainly spring up to meet the demand for the operation. Like illegal abortion clinics, the existence of these substandard outlets will result in major public health problems.

More than the ban, what is urgently needed is the government's support for more research on transgender health in order to create relevant knowledge to help people make safe and rational decisions. Just like a woman with breast augmentation gone awry, or a man with a disastrous penile enlargement procedure, a transgender often falls victim to commercially-geared medical services that respond more to profit than health and safety.

For a healthier society, Thais would do well to look less at the mirror and learn to see deeper than the skin. We should also get used to the idea of human diversity in all shapes and forms. While the majority may choose to live their lives based on their genitalia at birth, being a transgender is an equally valid life decision as a human being.

I can help with a spot for that avatar. Just GOOGLE castrations

and go to images and you will find it on page 10 I believe. I have a copy of it myself in my own collection.