Judge Blocks Trump Order on Transgender Inmate Policies
Judge Lamberth has blocked the government from enforcing aspects of a Trump-era executive order that could require transgender women to be transferred to men's prisons. The ruling also halts provisions that would prevent government funds from being utilized for certain medical care for transgender inmates.
Lamberth noted that three transgender women in federal women's prisons presented evidence indicating that the policy would place them at "significantly elevated risk of physical and sexual violence." Furthermore, depriving them of medications for gender dysphoria could lead to "numerous and severe symptoms," according to Lamberth.
The Justice Department argued that it was premature for Lamberth to make a ruling since the inmates had not yet been relocated and should first use formal grievance processes within the Bureau of Prisons. However, Lamberth stated that this case is an exception because the executive order "plainly requires the BOP to perform the allegedly unlawful facility transfer and to withhold the prescribed hormone therapy drugs."
Lamberth concluded that there was no remedy available within the discretion of the Bureau of Prisons to provide relief. Trump's executive order aimed to eliminate most transgender-related policies in the federal government, arguing against "ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex." This ruling only blocks two provisions requiring federal inmates to be housed according to their biological sex and forbidding federal funds for medical procedures aimed at conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex.
The ongoing legal battles over transgender inmates are part of a broader response to Trump’s efforts against previously established transgender rights, with multiple lawsuits also challenging restrictions affecting transgender military members and access to medical services outside prisons.
