Crime Pays: Convicted Murderer Gets Free Sex-Change Operation

Let me preface this entire article with an opinion.

I have no objection to a person opting for gender reassignment surgery. While I can’t pretend to understand the psychology behind gender dysphoria, as with most things that people try to decide for others, it is not my business when a consenting adult makes this decision, pays for the treatment, and undergoes some dramatic life change.

I’m well aware that my lack of objection is an issue for some people. There are folks who believe that it is their moral obligation to mind other people’s business.

But there is something I do have a problem with.

I have a vehement objection to paying for a sex-change operation for a convicted murderer.

The state can’t afford to help law-abiding people who are down on their luck.

Like every other state, California has those who have fallen on hard times. Sometimes people need a hand up through no fault of their own. We have elderly people who go for days, even weeks, without seeing a soul. We have children who are hungry or abused. We have veterans, men and women who risked their lives and their sanity for this country, who are homeless. I could go on and on because we live in difficult times.

Many of these people aren’t getting the help they need.

Often, it comes down to money.  There just isn’t enough of it to pay staff and provide resources for the most vulnerable people in society. Charities try to bridge the gap, but, still, money is short.

So with government departments often claiming that underfunding prevents them from helping everyone who needs help, you’d think that great care would be taken with allocation cash, right?

Wrong.

But apparently, California does have money to burn.

Because we can pay for sex-change surgery for a convicted felon, no problem.

Robert Quine is serving life without parole for murder, kidnapping, and robbery. In the 1980s, he killed a 33-year-old husband and father of three to steal $80 and a car.

Quine and an accomplice kidnapped and fatally shot 33-year-old Shahid Ali Baig, a father of three, in downtown Los Angeles in February 1980, stealing $80 and his car during a drug- and alcohol-fueled rampage. (source)

Now, the 57-year-old goes by the name Shiloh Heavenly Quine and has had gender reassignment surgery at the cost of the taxpayer.

CNN reports that the average cost for male-to-female reassignment is a whopping $140,450. That’s more than most law-abiding Americans make in 3 years.

The daughter of Quine’s victim is quite reasonably outraged.

The daughter of Quine’s victim said she objects to inmates getting taxpayer-funded surgery that is not readily available to non-criminals, regardless of the cost.

“My dad begged for his life,” said Farida Baig, who tried unsuccessfully to block Quine’s surgery through the courts. “It just made me dizzy and sick. I’m helping pay for his surgery; I live in California. It’s kind of like a slap in the face.” (source)

Here’s why the sex-change surgery was paid for by the prison system.

The argument is that Quine was serving his time in a men’s prison when he feels that he is a woman. He wants to serve his time with other women. Being unable to do so means, according to officials, that he faces cruel and unusual punishment, something banned under the 8th Amendment.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman  Terry Thornton released a written statement to the LA Times:

“The 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires that prisons provide inmates with medically necessary treatment for medical and mental health conditions including inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria,”

My argument for the purpose of this article is not whether gender dysphoria exists or whether these surgeries should occur. Like I said above, it’s not my business. What is my business – and everyone else’s – is a taxpayer-funded surgery for a convicted murderer serving life in prison.

There are people across the country who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Many of these law-abiding peaceful citizens could never hope of raising enough cash to pay for reassignment surgery, which is generally not covered by medical insurance.

Now they’re watching as Quine gets the procedure (and subsequent medication) for free. But that’s not all – this case paves the way for countless others in prisons around the country to get the same surgery free as well.

Sometimes it looks like crime does indeed pay.

At least when it comes to getting surgery you could never afford if you were a law-abiding, working citizen.

Article first appeared at DaisyLuther.com.