Constitutional Court Denies Appeal For Sex Change Operation
Inside Costa Rica - May 29, 2007
A thirty one year old Costa Rican man, identified only by his last name, Artavia, has lost his battle to become a woman, after the Constitutional Court rejected his appeal to order the Hospital México and the Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) to perform the surgery for him to become a woman.
Artavia said that since he was a young boy he has always desired to be a woman and wants the surgery to help him fully develop as a person, study and reach is goals.
The decision by the Constitutional Court was made on May 23 and made public yesterday, found that the appeal did not have merit.
In addition, according to Alberto Arguello of the Asociación Costarricense de CirugÃa Plástica (association of plastic surgeons) this type of surgery is not practiced in Costa Rica and even if the Constitutional Court had ruled in favour of Artavia, the is no place in Costa Rica to have the surgery done due to its complexity and its cost.
A number of young Costa Rican men wanting the surgery have to travel to places like Mexico, Colombia and Spain, to have their sex changed. 