managed to secure funds for a private assessment. On a benefit and unable to afford to go private, she says the advice she received – that a hysterectomy was a good option for her – has given her renewed hope she can have a better quality of life, but to get the procedure she has had to resort to fundraising. Densem was told it would be about $20,000.

"If there's no uterus then there's no pain," she says.

"It's a lot of money to get together, and I'm relying on a lot of people to be generous, and I find that very, very hard and very uncomfortable."

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF Diane Clyma's right hip has "completely collapsed", causing debilitating pain and compromising her quality of life. (Video first published December, 2019)

In itsThe federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused a rehearing by the full court on a lawsuit attempting to block state House Bill 1523, a religious objections bill that opponents say codifies discrimination against LGBT people.

Pending further challenge, the ruling will allow the bill to take effect Friday.

The bill, supporters say, protects people who act on the beliefs that marriage is between one man and one woman, that sexual relations are properly confined to such a marriage and that male and female refers to an individual's biological sex at birth. It was passed in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.

The bill, the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant in