An estimated 350,000 people in the United States use insulin pumps. These lifesaving devices replace the need for frequent injections by delivering insulin through the pump. It works 24-hours, 7-days-a-week to keep glucose levels under control.

Insulin pumps are effectively part of the body of a person with diabetes. People sleep with them and exercise with them. There are waterproof models that allow for swimming and bathing without disconnecting the device. So, of course, people will travel with the pumps as well, but a recent Transportation Security Administration (TSA) procedure change is making that needlessly complicated.

Previously any passenger for any reason was allowed to request a pat-down search at security checkpoints. Many people with insulin pumps have opted for this choice, as the devices should not go through x-ray machines and research on the safety of the new AIT scanners is inconclusive. But now, TSA officers have the right to deny pat-down requests "if warranted by security considerations." Refusal to go through a scanner allows the TSA to prevent passengers from boarding their flights.

Only a tiny fraction of the 318 million Americans wear insulin pumps, and far fewer take a plane on any given day. The combination of the relative rarity of an insulin pump with the TSA's abysmal turnover rate, 7 or 8% among full-time officers and 20% among part-time, means that many agents may not have encountered an insulin pump before.

And now the TSA's new policy allows them to force people with pumps through potentially harmful scanners.

When the memo detailing the policy change was released, it gave no reason for the TSA's shift in protocol. The TSA said in a statement that most passengers won't be affected by the change: "This will occur in a very limited number of circumstances where enhanced screening is required."

But insulin pump wearers ARE affected. And we have a right to keep our equipment safe from ignorant TSA officers who might deny us a pat-down.

Tell the TSA Administrator to reinstate the opt-out option so diabetics with insulin pumps can travel safely while protecting their life-saving equipment.