Free, Legal Sex-Change Operations Coming to Cuba

Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer signed a resolution approving sex-change surgery, said an official at the center who spoke on condition of anonymity because the measure has not been formally published. The resolution will be posted on the Internet on Saturday, the official said. The procedure would be available to Cubans for free as part of their country's health-care system. The sex education center has said previously that 28 transsexual Cubans have asked to undergo the surgery and that Cuban doctors have trained with physicians from Belgium to prepare for the procedures. According to the center, a clinic for transsexual health will be created to perform the procedures, but it was not clear when it will start operating.