The Utah Department of Corrections violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it did not provide a biological male prisoner who identified as a “transgender woman” with hormone therapy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, the man who believes he is a woman was “driven to harm herself” because he was denied this so-called “gender-affirming” care (via AP):
A federal investigation found that the state corrections department imposed “unnecessary barriers” to block the incarcerated trans woman from receiving treatment for intense gender dysphoria. The woman’s psychological distress, which doctors attributed to a mismatch between her birth sex and her gender identity, worsened significantly while she was incarcerated in a men’s prison, according to the Justice Department report.
After nearly two years of fighting for access to hormones and other gender-affirming accommodations, she performed a dangerous self-surgery to cut off her own testicles.
“We have been working to address this complex issue and were blindsided by today’s public announcement from the Department of Justice,” Brian Redd, the executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections, said in a statement. “We have also taken steps on our own and as a state to address the needs of inmates while maintaining the highest safety standards.”
Reportedly, a 2022 federal court ruling determined that gender dysphoria fell within the ADA’s definition of a disability.
“All people with disabilities including those who are incarcerated are protected by the ADA and are entitled to reasonable modifications and equal access to medical care, and that basic right extends to those with gender dysphoria,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
So-called “gender-affirming” care, which is irreversible, encompasses puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery.
The amount of prisoners who identify as “transgender” has escalated in recent years. Last year, Townhall reported how just over half of the men who identify as “transgender women” who are imprisoned in Wisconsin have committed at least one count of sexual assault, according to documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.