Latest news with #genderaffirmingcare
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Judge overrules Trump on issue of transgender prisoners' care
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's policy of denying gender-affirming care to transgender inmates. Judge Royce Lamberth criticized the administration's argument that courts should defer to the president's directives, saying that democratic governance requires adherence to all duly enacted laws, not just the whims of the current leader. The ruling marks the first court order to block prison officials from enforcing US President Donald Trump 's executive order. He also sought to move trans women out of women's detention centres. Plaintiffs, including trans men and a trans woman, argued that the policy violated the Eighth Amendment 's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, as they were denied hormone therapy and items like chest binders and cosmetics. The judge said that the administration failed to provide a valid explanation for changing the policy.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Judge OVERRULES Trump and tells prisons to keep giving trans inmates their meds in blockbuster decision
A judge has ruled the federal Bureau of Prisons must provide hormone therapy to transgender inmates after Donald Trump signed an executive order halting all treatments. Trump issued the order within hours of his inauguration in January forcing the federal government to only recognize two genders - male and female - as well as, house transgender women in men's prisons and not fund gender-affirming care. Several transgender prisoners sued the administration to have their treatments resumed. US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled on Tuesday that federal law prohibits prison officials from arbitrarily depriving inmates of medications and other lifestyle accommodations that the bureau's medical staff has deemed appropriate. The judge said the transgender inmates who sued to block Trump's executive order are trying to lessen the personal anguish caused by their gender dysphoria, the distress that a person feels because their assigned gender and gender identity don´t match. '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 said. Trump's order required the bureau to revise its medical care policies so that federal funds aren't spent 'for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex.' There are approximately 1,500 federal prisoners who are transgender women and 750 transgender men, The New York Times reported. One of the plaintiffs, Alishea Kingdom, is a transgender woman who was prescribed hormone therapy injections and approved to receive social accommodations, including women's undergarments and cosmetics. Kingdom was denied her hormone shot three times after Trump signed his order, but she had it restored roughly a week after she sued. Her access to feminine undergarments hasn't been restored, according to the judge's ruling. 'In Ms. Kingdom's case, there is no indication at all that the BOP means to leave her hormone therapy in place long-term; indeed, as noted above, she was informed by BOP personnel that the decision to resume her treatment was a consequence of this litigation itself, raising the specter that her treatments might be discontinued as soon as the litigation has concluded,' Lamberth said. Trump's order also directed the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that 'males are not detained in women's prisons,' but Lamberth blocked prison officials from transferring three incarcerated transgender women to men's facilities in February. The judge said there's no evidence Trump or prison officials considered the harm the new policies could do to transgender inmates. 'The defendants argue that the plaintiffs have not alleged irreparable harm because they are all currently receiving hormone medications. But it suffices to say that all three plaintiffs' access to hormone therapy is, as best the Court can tell, tenuous,' Lamberth said. Trump signed several orders rolling back protections for transgender people, ruling that the two 'immutable sexes' are 'not changeable.' The orders directed federal prisons along with shelters for migrants and rape victims to be segregated by sex. He also directed federal money to be no longer be used to fund 'transition services.' Transgender inmates were federally protected under the Barack Obama Administration, before Trump appealed the policy during his first term. Obama's policy was later reenacted under the Joe Biden Administration and Trump once again appealing it. The president also demanded officials use the term 'sex' rather than 'gender.' Federal agencies were urged to end funding to promote 'gender ideology' and protect against 'gender extremism.' contacted the Justice Department for comment. The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
US judge rules prisons must provide gender-affirming care for trans people
A US judge on Tuesday ruled the US Bureau of Prisons must keep providing transgender inmates gender-affirming care, despite an executive order Donald Trump signed on his first day back in office to halt funding for such care. US district judge Royce Lamberth in Washington DC allowed a group of more than 2,000 transgender inmates in federal prisons to pursue a lawsuit challenging the order as a class action. He ordered the Bureau of Prisons to provide them with hormone therapy and accommodations such as clothing and hair-removal devices while the lawsuit plays out. The ruling does not require the bureau to provide surgical care related to gender transitions. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said the Trump administration expects to ultimately prevail in the legal dispute. 'The district court's decision allowing transgender women, aka MEN, in women's prisons fundamentally makes women less safe and ignores the biological truth that there are only two genders,' Fields said in an email. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the prisoners, said the ruling was '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'. About 2,230 transgender inmates are housed in federal custodial facilities and halfway houses, according to the Department of Justice. About two-thirds of them, 1,506, are transgender women, most of whom are housed in men's prisons. The named plaintiffs, two transgender men and one transgender woman, sued the Trump administration in March to challenge Trump's January 20 executive order aimed at combating what the administration called 'gender ideology extremism.' The executive order directed the federal government to only recognize two, biologically distinct sexes, male and female; and house transgender women in men's prisons. It also ordered the bureau to stop spending any money on 'any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex'. Lamberth, appointed by Republican president Ronald Reagan, said in Tuesday's ruling that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their lawsuit because the bureau did not perform any analysis before cutting off treatment that its own medical staff had previously deemed to be medically appropriate for the inmates. Even if it had extensively studied the issue before deciding to stop gender-affirming care, the decision might still violate the US constitution's eighth amendment's protections against 'cruel and unusual' punishment, Lamberth wrote. The Department of Justice had argued that the judge should defer to the policy decision of a democratically elected president, but Lamberth said a functioning democracy requires respect for 'all duly enacted laws,' including those that blocked the executive branch from acting in an 'arbitrary and capricious' manner. Democratic self-governance 'does not mean blind submission to the whims of the most recent election-victor', Lamberth wrote. The executive order said it was meant to promote the 'dignity, safety, and wellbeing of women, and to stop the spread of 'gender ideology' which denies 'the immutable biological reality of sex'. But the inmates receiving hormone treatments had little interest in promoting any ideology, and were instead taking 'measures to lessen the personal anguish caused by their gender dysphoria,' Lamberth wrote.
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
FBI wants to investigate doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors. Experts question its legal basis
The Federal Bureau of Investigation began Pride month by asking Americans to report doctors, hospitals and clinics who offer gender-affirming surgeries to minors, claiming that those procedures amount to child mutilation. In social media posts Monday, the FBI and its chief spokesperson asked for tips on 'any hospitals or clinics who break the law and mutilate children under the guise of 'gender affirming care.'' But experts say the FBI's new push isn't backed up by federal law and may only be intended to scare medical practitioners away from offering those services. 'The only purpose of a tweet like this is to create fear and confusion for transgender youth, their families and their medical providers,' Josh Block, a senior attorney with the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Projects, told CNN. 'It simply has no legal basis.' The reporting initiative is among the most dramatic moves in a multipronged effort by President Donald Trump's administration to challenge gender-affirming care across the country, spawned by a January executive order that initiated a crackdown on what the president called 'chemical and surgical mutilation' of individuals under 19 years old. It also comes as the Trump administration broadly continues an anti-transgender agenda. The Justice Department on Monday, for instance, issued warnings to California school districts that have allowed transgender student athletes to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. 'Today at work… put 1600+ California schools on blast for violating equal protection in girls' sports,' Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said on X. There is no federal law that outlaws gender-affirming surgeries on minors – a rare practice that is not recommended by major medical organizations. The Trump executive order instructed that the Justice Department prioritize enforcement actions under a criminal statute that protects against female genital mutilation. The FBI did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the legal backing for any future investigation. Federal prosecutors, however, have conceded in court that the female genital mutilation law 'differs markedly' from Trump's executive order, according to a ruling earlier this year from a federal judge who said that parts of the order targeting federal funding should be paused indefinitely. The judge, Lauren King, who was nominated by Joe Biden, said that gender-affirming surgery is considered medically necessary – a key legal hurdle when prosecuting someone for mutilation. She also noted that prosecutors 'acknowledge that non-surgical options 'are generally the only treatments minors can receive.'' Referencing that law in the executive order, King concluded, 'seems misplaced, and could be construed as a bad-faith attempt to make parents and providers fear prosecution.' Gender-affirming care for trans youth is largely focused on social aspects like names, pronouns and clothing. If a minor does move forward with any sort of medical intervention – treatment that is typically focused on medications whose effects are reversable instead of surgeries – a team of doctors and the child's family will consider what is appropriate for that child's needs and stage of development. 'A strong body of medical evidence supports the safety and efficacy of this care,' said Jennifer Levy, the senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law. 'These efforts make it more difficult for parents to secure the health care their children need to thrive.' Still, nearly 30 states have passed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for people under 18 years old. Several of those states, including Alabama, Florida and North Carolina, are defending those bans in court. One of the challenges, which was brought over a Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers and other hormonal treatments for minors, is currently under consideration by the US Supreme Court. A decision is expected this month.
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
FBI wants to investigate doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors. Experts question its legal basis
The Federal Bureau of Investigation began Pride month by asking Americans to report doctors, hospitals and clinics who offer gender-affirming surgeries to minors, claiming that those procedures amount to child mutilation. In social media posts Monday, the FBI and its chief spokesperson asked for tips on 'any hospitals or clinics who break the law and mutilate children under the guise of 'gender affirming care.'' But experts say the FBI's new push isn't backed up by federal law and may only be intended to scare medical practitioners away from offering those services. 'The only purpose of a tweet like this is to create fear and confusion for transgender youth, their families and their medical providers,' Josh Block, a senior attorney with the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Projects, told CNN. 'It simply has no legal basis.' The reporting initiative is among the most dramatic moves in a multipronged effort by President Donald Trump's administration to challenge gender-affirming care across the country, spawned by a January executive order that initiated a crackdown on what the president called 'chemical and surgical mutilation' of individuals under 19 years old. It also comes as the Trump administration broadly continues an anti-transgender agenda. The Justice Department on Monday, for instance, issued warnings to California school districts that have allowed transgender student athletes to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. 'Today at work… put 1600+ California schools on blast for violating equal protection in girls' sports,' Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said on X. There is no federal law that outlaws gender-affirming surgeries on minors – a rare practice that is not recommended by major medical organizations. The Trump executive order instructed that the Justice Department prioritize enforcement actions under a criminal statute that protects against female genital mutilation. The FBI did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the legal backing for any future investigation. Federal prosecutors, however, have conceded in court that the female genital mutilation law 'differs markedly' from Trump's executive order, according to a ruling earlier this year from a federal judge who said that parts of the order targeting federal funding should be paused indefinitely. The judge, Lauren King, who was nominated by Joe Biden, said that gender-affirming surgery is considered medically necessary – a key legal hurdle when prosecuting someone for mutilation. She also noted that prosecutors 'acknowledge that non-surgical options 'are generally the only treatments minors can receive.'' Referencing that law in the executive order, King concluded, 'seems misplaced, and could be construed as a bad-faith attempt to make parents and providers fear prosecution.' Gender-affirming care for trans youth is largely focused on social aspects like names, pronouns and clothing. If a minor does move forward with any sort of medical intervention – treatment that is typically focused on medications whose effects are reversable instead of surgeries – a team of doctors and the child's family will consider what is appropriate for that child's needs and stage of development. 'A strong body of medical evidence supports the safety and efficacy of this care,' said Jennifer Levy, the senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law. 'These efforts make it more difficult for parents to secure the health care their children need to thrive.' Still, nearly 30 states have passed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for people under 18 years old. Several of those states, including Alabama, Florida and North Carolina, are defending those bans in court. One of the challenges, which was brought over a Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers and other hormonal treatments for minors, is currently under consideration by the US Supreme Court. A decision is expected this month.
