Federal prisons must allow hormone therapy for transgender inmates, judge rules
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The federal Bureau of Prisons must continue to allow hormone therapy for transgender inmates, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The big picture: The decision temporarily bars the bureau from enforcing President Trump's executive order that prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender people in federal prisons.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted a request for a preliminary injunction from transgender inmates, who sued to block Trump's executive order.
- The judge said in the order that federal law prohibits prisons from indiscriminately depriving them of medications and other accommodations that medical staff deems appropriate.
- "In light of the plaintiffs' largely personal motives for undergoing gender-affirming care, neither the BOP nor the Executive Order provides any serious explanation as to why the treatment modalities covered by the Executive Order or implementing memoranda should be handled differently than any other mental health intervention," Lamberth wrote.
- He said the sworn declarations of the inmates "make clear that they are taking these measures to lessen the personal anguish caused by their gender dysphoria, a benefit on which they have relied for years under the BOP's longstanding policy of providing this type of care."
Context: Gender dysphoria is a form of psychological distress felt by people whose assigned sex doesn't match their gender identity.
- Not all transgender people experience or are diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
- The diagnosis is often a first step when seeking gender-related mental health care or gender-affirming care, in order to access treatment and activate insurance coverage.
Catch up quick: Trump signed an executive order in January that prohibited gender-affirming care for transgender people in federal prisons.
- The Bureau of Prisons then instated a policy saying none of its funds "are to be expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex."
What they're saying: "Today's ruling is an important lifeline for trans people in federal custody," said ACLU-D.C. attorney Michael Perloff said in a statement.
- "The ruling is also a critical reminder to the Trump administration that trans people, like all people, have constitutional rights that don't simply disappear because the president has decided to wage an ideological battle," Perloff added.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Go deeper: FBI seeks tips on gender-affirming surgeries for children
