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Trans Woman Defends the Man Who Performed Her Back-Alley Castration

"I am indeed a victim... of a society and health care system."
Booking photo of James Lowell Pennington, Provided by the Denver Police Department

A 57-year-old man has been arrested for aggravated assault for performing a botched genital surgical procedure on a transgender woman. On its face, the situation sounds horrific: The unlicensed man, James Lowell Pennington, cut into the "victim" in her Denver home—leaving her without testicles and with a wound that would "bleed heavily" a few hours later.

The police report, obtained by Broadly, states that Pennington used an "army surgical kit" to perform the 90-minute procedure. He cut out her testicles and then sutured the incision, instructing the unnamed woman to "call 911" in case of complication. When her wife was tending to the wound later on, she began bleeding heavily; that's when she went to the hospital, and Pennington was subsequently arrested.

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The police report reads that "the testicles could not be re-attached due to time delay of procedure to 911 call." However, anyone familiar with the medical care of a transgender woman would find it absurd that someone who had undergone castration (orchiectomy) would want their balls back.

Three days after the procedure, the "victim" wrote a letter, printed by NBC's KUSA, stating that the surgery was elective. The woman, who calls herself Jane Doe, didn't call the police—they were called by the paramedics after Doe's wife dialed 911. "The man who did the operation on me was arrested, and shortly after that his name was released to the press who have now released several stories painting the man as a monster," Doe wrote. Pennington didn't attack Doe, or force her to undergo the elective procedure; she wrote at length in defense of Pennington. Doe's wife watched him do it.

This story shines a light on the gross inequity that transgender Americans face in healthcare. So-called "back-alley" procedures have existed throughout trans culture—whether you're talking about the dangerous silicone injections that trans women receive, or untrained surgeons who take advantage of desperate communities. Genital reconstructive surgeries were performed throughout the 20th century, yet they remain inaccessible to many.

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The press who have now released several stories painting the man as a monster.

An American expert in genital reconstructive surgery, or vaginoplasty, recently warned me that there has been an increase in these procedures, but that the surgeons are not being properly trained. Whether or not her concern is true, one thing is clear: This country needs to finally take responsibility for its transgender population. Breast augmentations, facial reconstruction, castration, whatever—these procedures have been deemed medically necessary for transgender patients. However, many trans people are trapped in poverty, without insurance or with a policy that excludes coverage for a procedure that could save their life.

I do not know Pennington, Doe, or her wife. But it seems clear that they had gathered together willingly in that Denver apartment to do something that must have been worth the risk. There is a sick irony to the fact that Pennington should now be called criminal by the state, when the true culprit is the state's failure to address the needs of transgender Americans.

Lacking sufficient health care, many trans women use platforms like GoFundMe or Indiegogo to raise money for the procedures that they need—procedures their doctors have often deemed necessary. Some are successful in reaching their funding goals, but I would imagine those are the outliers. I've seen the threads on secret forums: trans women considering suicide because they just can't get the help they need.

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Others, the lucky ones, are able to receive medical care. Sometimes that includes surgery, and sometimes the results are phenomenal. Other times, trans women and men are left with botched jobs, highlighting the dire need for adequately trained surgeons in the United States. These procedures cannot be learned overnight; they require years of specialized training.

"I am indeed a victim," Pennington wrote. "However, I am not a victim of 57 year old James Lowell Pennington who is the suspect in this case. I am a victim of a society and health care system that focuses on trying to demonize transgender people and prevent us from getting the medical transition we need instead of trying to do what is best for us."