After 12 days on hunger strike, Alexe Frédéric Migneault believes he has won a round in his fight against the Régie de l’assurance santé du Québec and is putting an end to his fast. Although his wish that health insurance cards had a third gender option (“X”) was not granted, the non-binary person believes he has advanced the cause.
“Great progress has been made,” wrote Alexe Frédéric Migneault on his Facebook page early Friday evening. The organizations that represent me and I were able to meet high-level people. I believe it was not in vain. We managed to draw their attention to the unreasonable delays that people like me experience, which is already an achievement. »
Alexe Frédéric Migneault judges that the “concrete problems” encountered in the health system due to non-binarity have not received “the recognition due to them, but at least, non-binary people will have a new tool to help them.”
They also expressed their satisfaction with their role in the fight led by non-binary people to be recognized and now say they are ready to pass the torch to someone else to continue this momentum.
“Thank you again to all the people who showed me their support from near and far. […] We hope that our rights are respected at home, at least up to what we fought to obtain,” we read in his message.
On November 20, the non-binary person settled near the RAMQ offices in Quebec, having since subsisted only on vegetable broth, water and a little hot chocolate.
For those who would be tempted to fast to protest, Alexe Frédéric Migneault does not recommend it.
“But I don’t recommend this method to anyone. It’s painful, frustrating, and not at all glamorous. We have difficulty walking and functioning. It’s dangerous. We are in a perpetual state of hypoglycemia,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
“It’s painful and debilitating,” he added on Friday. But at least it served a purpose, and I was able to calm my feeling of helplessness in the face of this infuriating injustice. »