18/12/2015 | Writer: Gökhan C.
Medical attendants discussed LGBTI’s right of access to health: Who has the right not to be ill? Who can access to healthcare services limitlessly?
Medical attendants discussed LGBTI’s right of access to health: Who has the right not to be ill? Who can access to healthcare services limitlessly?
The 4th Symposium against Discrimination which organized by Kaos GL Association, Turkish Medical Association, Psychiatric Association of Turkey and Health and Social Service Worker Union has continued on its third day at 12th December.
Under the moderation of Dr. Müge Yetener, Doc.Dr.Ayşe Devrim Başterzi, Dr.Nuriye Ortaylı and Prof.Dr. Tuğrul Erbaylar participated at the session which LGBT’s right of access to health is discussed.
“The rate of maternal death is higher in countries where abortion is banned”
Dr.Nuriye Ortaylı mentioned the “International Conference on Population and Development” which was held in Cairo in 1994 during the presentation titled “Reproductive health or sexual rights?”
Ortaylı continued after indicating the “holy conservative” alliance:
“Vatican’s position is so efficient over United Nations. At the conference in Cairo, we have seen that Vatican’s ally is Saudi Arabia. It’s hard, more than you can imagine, to overcome social conservative alliance. It will be the most important matter in upcoming period. “
Ortaylı stated that countries where maternal death rate is high are the same countries where abortion is banned and added “there is a relation between reproductive health and sexual health at the process of making it real.
“It’s not enough to say ‘everyone’, it’s required to establish specific policies for disadvantaged LGBTI individuals, women and disabled people, for their specific needs.”
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being violated at any moment”
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which talks about our fundamental rights such as nourishment, clothing, housing along with right of access to health. It’s so clear that declaration has been violated for almost 60 years,” in this way Ayşe Devrim Başterzi started and added:
“Whose life is valued? Whose has the right not to be ill? Who can access to healthcare services limitlessly? Whose life is not valued? Who can be ill? Who can’t take advantage of healthcare services? What do you think who is in charge to determine who is ill, whose disease can be cured, whose disease doesn’t deserve to be cured? Do LGBT individuals deserve to be treated just like heterosexuals, be healthy? What is the concept of being healthy?”
“Being healthy is seen as the right of one specific class”
Başterzi: “Codes of discrimination are the things that determine how one can live his or her life. Having the right of living as a healthy person, living in good condition, being nourished with trustworthy food, sufficient protein intake and such, they are all seeing as the right of one specific class in this unconscientious world. Even though the statistics we have are not enough, in United States of America, where poverty rate is %12, we know that this rate is %24 for lesbian women and %19 for heterosexual women. Poverty is a disease that also hits women, especially if you are not heterosexual, it increases incrementally. The most affected ones, as you can imagine, are the transsexuals. Discrimination begins at the early years of education and most of the transgenders are not able to finish school, they start at the jobs which pay very low or they can’t even work and there is always lack of family and social support.”
Family, partner, companion…
Başterzi continued: “Apart from few exceptions, almost all countries’ acts which doesn’t allow same sex marriages, leave LGBT people’s partners alone about making a decision on their diseases.
“Out of partner’s legal position, visitation to LGBT people from their close friends, families fulfills the corridors of hospital with discrimination. It creates an ambiance full of humming sounds, hate speeches and discrimination.”
Başterzi who supports the idea of doctors all over the world possess more conservative value judgments according to other graduate students, added that “All discrimination when applying to a job also welcomes us at the field of medical service. Medicine has been the field where the dominance of masculine is felt, almost close to military service and one of its target is homosexuality. You can be doctor or surgical technician but if you are gay, even though all works you do is faultless, you will be labeled as “womanish”. If you choose a carrier on surgery and if you do a good job, highly likely you will be hear the rumors whether you are a lesbian or not.”
“Health is not the right of gays, bisexuals and transsexuals!”
Başterzi put an end to the speech in this way:
“In this century we live, where brutal reign of capitalism is real, in this world without moral compass, health it is not the right of who become subject to poverty, maltreating, torture, rape and violence. Health is not our but their rights, it is the right of the women who will give birth to their children. Not us, not others. Health is not the right of poor, unemployed people, uninsured workers, widows, refugees, homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals.
“Reproductive health and sexual rights are clashing each other”
Last speaker, Prof.Dr. Tuğrul Erbaydar addressed “Community health care and LGBTI’s”:
“The terms of reproductive health and sexual rights are being used close to each other but in reality, those concepts are clashing each other.
Erbaydar stated that perspective of public health needs to be created over the perspective of human rights.
“As we look through the perspective of public health and human rights, we need to take into account all social issues and results born from them.”
Related news:
Difficulties in gender re-assignment process
How health policies affect LGBTI people?
“Why and how homosexuality has been identified as a disease?”
“Intersex bodies are being pathologized”
Tags: human rights, health
