Dying Woman Says TSA Humiliated Her By Refusing To Perform Search In Private

A woman dying from leukemia is mortified, claiming that TSA screeners at Sea-Tac airport in Washington state made her lift up her shirt and checked under her bandages in front of other travelers.

The incident occurred while she was waiting to board an Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii. She tells KOMO-TV she had called the airline in advance to discuss her various medical needs and to make sure all would be okay at the security checkpoint. Though she claims to have followed the airline’s guidance, that doesn’t really matter as neither the airline nor the airport have anything to do with the behavior of TSA agents.

At the checkpoint, the screening machine was having trouble scanning her saline bags. And while inspecting them, the woman claims a TSA agent forced one open and contaminated the contents.

She says that the screeners made her lift up her shirt and pull back bandages covering her feeding tubes. The woman claims that she requested a private pat-down, but alleges the TSA agents replied, “They just said that it was fine; the location we were at was fine.”

A TSA rep tells KOMO that “Officers are trained to perform pat downs in a dignified manner and, at any point, passengers can request a private screening with a witness present.” The agency says it will look into the matter at Sea-Tac.

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