Supreme Court rebuffs Trump, keeps hormone therapy for transgender federal inmates
The justices denied an emergency request, leaving in place an order that bars the Bureau of Prisons from ending care for inmates with gender dysphoria. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented.
Symbolic image · Photo: Joe Ravi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration, leaving in place a federal judge's order that bars the Bureau of Prisons from ending hormone therapy and other treatment for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria while litigation continues. The one-line, unsigned order gave no reasoning; Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have granted the request.
The policy, issued in February, would have ended surgeries and hormone treatment, tapered inmates off hormones and eliminated accommodations such as wigs and binders. Lawyers for the challengers say nearly 1,000 inmates would be affected. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth blocked the rule in June, and a divided D.C. Circuit panel declined to lift his order.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued the change was needed to maintain institutional security. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the inmates, countered that the bureau has treated gender dysphoria since 1992 and has not pointed to a single related security incident.