To see my answer to this question, click here.

Gender reassignment surgery is when a person undergoes surgery to alter or reconstruct the person's sex organs to resemble those of the other sex as closely as possible.

Generally it is done as a treatment for a condition called gender identity disorder in which a patient of one gender or sex consistently identifies with the other gender and desires to become a member of the other sex.

The surgery can be expensive. For patients not covered by health insurance, the typical cost of a sex reassignment surgery can range from about $15,000 for just reconstruction of the genitals to about $25,000 for operations on the genitals and chest.

The problem is that, while Medi-Cal covers the cost of the surgery, very few health insurance policies or health care services plans do. Several factors suggest that the time is now ripe for legislation that would require them to cover the surgery. 

To read what those factors are, click here.

According to KidsData.org the death rate for children is going down in California.

However, a disturbing difference in the death rate by race and ethnicity remains.

For example, according to the latest data available (2008-2010), here is the child death rate in California by race.

- African American/Black 69.6 per 100,000

- American Indian/Alaska Native 52.3 per 100,000

- Asian/Pacific Islander 21.2 per 100,000

- Hispanic/Latino 32.0 per 100,000

- White 34.9 per 100,000

- Multiracial 20.1 per 100,000

To read a discussion of this issue, and see more data, click here.

A recent study suggests that mammograms may be over used and that women may be going through needless, worry, surgery, and expense as a result.

Please note: this is NOT a settled subject. Any decision on whether or not to have a mammogram should be decided in consultation with your personal physician.

A report on the study was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was led by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, of Dartmouth College's Medical School.

The report notes that improvements in mammograms are making it possible to detect smaller and smaller growths in the breast tissue. This allows doctors to detect breast cancer in its earlier stages at a time when there is the best chance of a full and permanent recovery.

To read what in the report suggests mammograms may being overused, click here.

Judge Thelton Henderson, of the US District Court for Northern California, has temporarily blocked the enforcement of California Proposition 35. He did so at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Proposition 35 increases the penalties for those who force others into prostitution, or into other kinds of forced labor (human trafficking). It requires police to take training in human trafficking and how to respond to it.

The increased fines for these crimes would be used to support non-profits which help victims of human trafficking and to fund law enforcement efforts on this issue.

On November 2, eighty one percent of California's voters voted for the proposition. California Communities United Institute supported the proposition because California has a major problem with forced prostitution, and forced labor. It has a long coast line facing Asia.

As a result, a lot of people are brought into the state from overseas and forced into prostitution or other kinds of involuntary labor. 

To learn more and find out why the ACLU objects to Proposition 35 click here.