Ontario has been ordered to pay for surgery for a resident who is seeking to have a vagina constructed while leaving their penis intact.
Denying the procedure would infringe on the person’s Charter-protected right to security of the person, an Ontario court said in its ruling.
The unanimous decision by a three-member panel of judges of Ontario’s Divisional Court could expand access to a novel “bottom surgery” for people who identify as non-binary, meaning neither fully male nor fully female.
The Ontario resident, identified in court documents as K.S., has been locked in a legal battle with the Ontario Health Insurance Plan since 2022, when OHIP denied a funding request to have a penile preserving vaginoplasty performed at a clinic in Austin, Texas.
The surgery, which is not available anywhere in Canada, involves creating a vaginal canal, or opening, without removing the penis.
K.S., 33, was born male but identifies as female dominant and uses a feminine name.
OHIP denied her request for funding, arguing that the procedure is not included on its list of sex-reassignment procedures, and is therefore not an insured service.
K.S. appealed OHIP’s decision to Ontario’s Health Services Appeal and Review Board, arguing that forcing her to have her penis removed would invalidate her identity and be akin to an illegal act of conversion therapy.
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