Does a surgery to change one's gender cost $700,000? No, that's not true: Depending on one's choice, the cost varies from $5,400 for chin surgery to well over $100,000 for multiple procedures as of October 2022.
In an interview with Sputnik, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Gaidukevich said that gender-affirming surgery would cost $700,000. Mr. Gaidukevich claimed that money-making would be the reason to support transgenderism, not freedom and democracy.
The story was also published on TikTok (archived here) where it was published by the account sputnik_belarus on April 30, 2023 under the title "Gaidukevich talks about true reasons behind supporting the transgender movement in the West." It opened:
Why is transgenderism promoted? Because converting a boy into a girl costs $700,000 and then receiving life-long hormone injections.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue May 2 07:05:35 2023 UTC)
A person suffering from gender dysphoria (formal diagnosis given by mental health professionals to people who experience distress because of a significant incongruence between the gender with which they personally identify and the gender with which they were born) may require mental health counseling, non-medical social transition, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and/or gender-affirming surgeries.
Major insurance companies recognize transgender-related medical care and offer healthcare benefits to cover the costs.
Also, other forms of financial support are available. Several organizations which assist people suffering from gender dysphoria offer grants to help finance the gender transition costs.
