New Mexico transsexual drops lawsuit

A transssexual woman who sued the University of New Mexico Hospital, alleging she was denied treatment because of her gender identity, is dropping the lawsuit because she can't find a lawyer, she says. Christine Anders, 54, filed the lawsuit in state court last year, then refiled it in federal court in December. "No one wants to represent a transsexual," she said. The lawsuit alleges that emergency room personnel ignored her for more than two hours in June 2000 even though she was experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding. Anders said she twice complained to hospital administrators about "inferior treatment and sanctioned aggression" toward transsexuals but was told no such complaints were found in hospital records. Hospital attorneys have denied the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss the case. The motion for dismissal argues that any injuries Anders suffered resulted from an "unavoidable medical complication." Anders had a sex-change operation in 1975. She said she had hoped the court would order the hospital to pay for reconstructive surgery she contends she needs because of the alleged malpractice and failure to treat a medical emergency.