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News
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to let it enforce restrictions on gender-affirming care for federal inmates while legal battles continue. Lower courts had blocked the policy — stemming from a Trump executive order — which halts hormone therapy, surgeries, and social accommodations. Critics call the restrictions a violation of inmates' fundamental rights and cruel and unusual punishment.
The Trump administration has filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court, asking it to temporarily allow enforcement of a policy that restricts gender-affirming care for federal prison inmates. The policy, rooted in a Trump executive order directing the Bureau of Prisons to stop spending federal funds on care aimed at "conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex," halts hormone therapy, surgeries, and social accommodations like wigs — while permitting mental health therapy to continue.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had ordered the government to keep providing gender-affirming care, and a divided appeals court panel left that order in place. The Trump administration argues the judge overstepped his authority and that the policy was properly adopted. ACLU attorneys representing the inmates contend that withholding necessary care constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and violates their fundamental rights.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: This case could set a significant federal precedent on the constitutionality of restricting gender-affirming healthcare in government custody, with broad implications for transgender rights and prison medical care standards nationwide.
