And no, I don’t mean the band from Illuminatus!

I was talking just yesterday about how the British Psychological Society came to the defense of LGBT people when an idiot politician tried to label them insane. Now I’m pleased to report that the American Medical Association has leaped to the defense of transgenders.

At their annual meeting (known as the House of Delegates) the AMA passes all sort of resolutions about health care. Last week they passed one on the subject of care for transgender people. The resolutions are only available as Word documents, but you can find links to them here. The one is question is #122, titled “Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients.”

For the benefit of those of you who don’t have the time to read the whole thing, here’s a brief summary. The resolution starts by noting that Gender Identity Disorder is a serious medical condition which, if left untreated, can lead to much more serious problem such as depression and suicide. It then goes on to note that highly effective treatments exist, all of which involve helping transgender people live in their preferred gender. It goes on to note:

Health experts [..] have rejected the myth that such treatments are “cosmetic” or “experimental” and have recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective treatment for a serious health condition.

And finally it resolves to support the provision of the necessary treatment under health insurance contracts, and opposes the blanket exclusion of such treatment, which is currently common in the US.

This puts the AMA well ahead of much of the UK’s National Health Service which, in many parts of the country, operates precisely the sort of blanket exclusion policy that the AMA deplores.

Nor is there any mention of nonsense such as autogynophilia.