TRANSGENDER PERSON’S RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE

Abstract

Transgender community in India has been a subject of systematic discrimination for centuries and because of this discrimination, the access to right to health of the community has been in a chokehold. The Supreme Court through its judgment in NALSA paved the way for progressive and affirmative rights for the community and there were a lot of expectations from the Transgender person Act, 2019 but the Act has simply failed to deliver. Especially in the healthcare front, the policies in India have been inadequate to say the least. This article explores how in India there is no systematic right to health and hence, it is essential that there must be a law that confers it and in case of the transgender persons, this legislative intervention becomes imperative. Another facet of this article is the possible justifications for the State to provide gender affirmative healthcare services. I build upon the already existing principles such as autonomy and medical necessity.