Supreme Court Blocks Trump Bid to Halt Hormone Therapy for 1,000 Transgender Inmates
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 21
Supreme Court Blocks Trump Bid to Halt Hormone Therapy for 1,000 Transgender Inmates
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 21
Summary
A one-sentence Supreme Court order left in place lower-court rulings that stopped the Bureau of Prisons from cutting off hormone therapy and related care for transgender federal inmates.
Trump’s policy stemmed from a first-day executive order barring medical treatment meant to align an inmate’s appearance with the opposite sex; the prison system then allowed psychotherapy but not hormones, surgeries or social accommodations.
The DC Circuit said the policy was likely arbitrary and capricious because prison officials had not adequately weighed their own experience providing gender-affirming care under the prior policy.
Three inmates who had received hormone therapy for years sued, saying the abrupt reversal threatened treatment for nearly 1,000 people, while the ACLU said officials cited no related security incident in 30 years.
The ruling marked a rare transgender-rights win at the conservative court, which since Trump’s return has backed restrictions on military service, passport sex markers and transgender athletes.