The Sentinel

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News

No waste here

Michelle Kosilek is a woman trapped inside of a man's body. Her prison of testosterone and body hair seems to be worse for her than the actual prison cell in which she lives. A convicted murderer, Kosilek is on a mission: a taxpayer-funded sex-change to relieve her of the inner anxiety caused by her male genitalia.

Currently serving a life sentence in Massachusetts, Robert "Michelle" Kosilek is pursuing a legal case. Incarcerated in 1990 after strangling his wife to death during a violent domestic dispute involving hot tea and his genitalia, Robert legally changed his name to Michelle in 1993. In 2000, she sued the Department of Corrections, accusing them of cruel and unusual punishment for not allowing her to have a sex-change operation. She was diagnosed with gender identity disorder and began receiving court-ordered "treatment" in 2002, treatment that stopped just short of an actual sex-change operation.

The so-called "treatment" that Michelle has been receiving now for over five years includes laser hair removal, hormone treatments, and psychotherapy- all at Massachusetts' taxpayers' expense. In 2006 however, Kosilek was disappointed and had been left wanting: the testosterone blockers had seemed to stop working as effectively as they had been. "My breasts have shrunk, genitals have regained previous size and function, facial hair is thicker and scalp hair is thinner, all related to an elevated testosterone level," Michelle wrote in a statement to the court. She sued the Department of Corrections a second time, in order to receive improved hormone treatments.

Although the case has yet to be ruled upon, Kosilek has pushed onward, requesting a sex-change operation which, if not provided by the State of Massachusetts, will be addressed by the federal courts system. Senator Scott Brown created legislation in the late '90s which would ultimately prevent Massachusetts from providing sex-change operations for inmates, but the law was never passed. Now, as Kosilek pursues this pricey medical procedure, all that stands in his way is the Department of Corrections. Massachusetts state law currently does not allocate funds for inmate sex-changes, but the doctor recommended sex-change for which Kosilek is asking could be made possible if the federal courts find that it's medically necessary.

Gender identity disorder is proven to have negative effects on the quality of life one leads when afflicted with the mental illness. It can lead to various other psychological disorders such as severe depression and anxiety. Kosilek herself has attempted suicide twice, which some taxpayers wonder about whether or not this is actually a concern that needs to be addressed in reference to a convicted murderer. A sex-change operation costs approximately $20,000 and the State of Massachusetts has already spent over $50,000 having Kosilek psychoanalyzed during previous investigations.

Continued...

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