A transgender man is suing a Catholic hospital after he allegedly was denied medical services just minutes before he was scheduled to undergo surgery related to his gender transition.

As part of his treatment for gender dysphoria — a medical condition resulting from a conflict between one’s sex assigned at birth and one's gender identity — Oliver Knight, 29, was set to undergo a hysterectomy. But the procedure, which involves removal of the uterus, did not proceed as anticipated at the St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California, on Aug. 30, 2017.

“I arrived at the hospital and they checked me in and did the surgery prep, which was extremely uncomfortable and triggering,” Knight said in a statement shared Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union. “I asked the nurse if I could have a blue gown, but she told me I was having a ‘female surgery’ and should wear the pink. I felt like a child all over again, sitting uncomfortably in a pink dress.”

...“It seems the hospital does not understand how it feels to be treated inhumanely just because your body parts do not match your soul,” Knight stated. “This surgery was important — it was meant to balance my hormones. The delay disrupted my life. I felt like the hospital’s bigotry had set me back years.”