Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to restrict transgender inmate care

Summarised from 5 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 17:03 · Archive

The Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal to revive a Trump administration policy that would end gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender federal prison inmates.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency appeal from the Trump administration seeking to enforce a new Bureau of Prisons policy that would end certain medical treatments for transgender inmates. In an unsigned, one-line order, the high court left intact a lower court decision blocking the policy from taking effect while litigation continues.

The policy would have cut off surgical and hormone therapy treatments, as well as social accommodations, for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The Trump administration argued the new policy is needed to 'maintain institutional security'. President Trump had issued an executive order barring the use of federal funds for medical procedures or treatments for transgender inmates in Bureau of Prisons custody, and the Bureau of Prisons issued the new policy in February in response.

Lawyers for a transgender woman and two transgender men in federal prisons who challenged the rules noted that the Bureau of Prisons has provided hormone treatment to people with gender dysphoria since 1992. They argued the new policy would require ending treatment for nearly 1,000 inmates in the bureau's custody.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said in their dissent that they would have allowed the Trump administration to enforce the policy. However, the remainder of the court sided with blocking the emergency appeal, without providing a written explanation.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit inmates filed against the Trump administration on behalf of incarcerated people diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The case will continue to be litigated in the lower courts as the Supreme Court's rejection of the emergency appeal means federal prisons must continue providing gender-affirming care for now.

How it is being reported

• Supreme court blocks Trump’s bid to restrict gender care for trans prisonersDecision stands in contrast to recent trans rights actions from court that often sides with Trump administration The US supreme court went against Donald Trump ’s administration on Wednesday, refusing to allow the immediate enforcement of sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender individuals held in prisons and federal facilities. The decision marks an unusual victory for transgender rights before the nation’s highest court, which has largely sided with the administration and other opponents of transgender rights in several major cases. Continue reading...The Guardian · 21 Oct, 18:25
• The Latest: Supreme Court rebuffs Trump restrictions on medical care for trans inmatesThe Supreme Court has refused to allow the Trump administration to immediately enforce new medical restrictions for transgender people in prisonIndependent World · 21 Oct, 18:02
• Supreme Court blocks Trump’s effort to restrict transgender treatment for prison inmatesThe Supreme Court rebuffed the Trump administration's emergency petition to immediately revive its restrictions on transgender treatment for inmates in federal prisons.New York Post · 21 Oct, 16:53
• Supreme Court upholds pause on Trump's anti-trans prison policyThe Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration has to continue providing gender-affirming care to inmates in federal prisons as litigation on efforts to change the policy continues.NPR · 21 Oct, 16:46
• Supreme Court rejects bid to restrict treatments for trans inmatesIn an unsigned order, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal seeking to revive a policy ending certain medical treatments for transgender inmates.CBS News · 21 Oct, 16:35

In this story: Supreme Court · Trump administration · Bureau of Prisons · Samuel Alito · Clarence Thomas · Justice Department

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