Kristen Bracker | Contributing Writer
The rights of prison inmates are not something that we usually consider in our daily lives. For me, it is almost like “out of sight, out of mind.” It isn’t that we don’t care, we just don’t think about it. In a recent article in the Sioux City Journal, an issue was addressed that made me think differently. There may be some issues with prisoners’ rights that affect our own. In the article, an incarcerated transgendered individual was seeking to have sex reassignment surgery. This particular individual went in front of a judge that ruled in favor of the surgery. This would mean that the taxpayers’ dollars would fund the surgery, much like other medical needs of incarcerated individuals.
This article brought up a few issues in my mind. The first is that many people may not be comfortable knowing that their tax money is going to pay for this surgery, or other medical treatments of this kind. Many people do not pay much attention to what is happening in places like prisons until their money is involved. This in itself is a problem in our society. We have little concern for the “out of sight” issues. Is this something that we, as a society, are comfortable with? Is it something that we should be more concerned about? If we don’t concern ourselves with issues belonging to those on the outskirts of society such as the poor, sick, or incarcerated before they become a “burden” on us financially, then when they finally do it will be much worse than if we had paid attention in the first place.
The next big issue that came to mind while reading this article is about the rights of transgender individuals. Until last year, I didn’t know much about individuals who were transgender. In one of my classes, I learned much about the psychological effects that come from feeling like you are one sex trapped in a foreign body. This is another thing that many people don’t necessarily think about every day. This article brings up the issue of whether or not sex reassignment surgery for transgender individuals is a necessary medical treatment. With this judge’s ruling, a new precedent is set in the necessity of helping transgendered individuals. This is a step in the right direction for fair and equal treatment for all people. Whether or not this particular ruling gets repealed, this will definitely not be the last case we see dealing with this issue. From whichever side you view it, this new ruling is going to open the eyes of people to the issues of another group that we might consider “out of sight.” Hopefully there will be a brighter future for all of us, especially these individuals who deserve the same rights and equality that we give to everyone else.
Graphic by Keyla Calles-Sosa
