A federal judge is blocking the Donald Trump administration’s effort to end treatment for transgender inmates, thus requiring federal prisons to continue hormone therapy.
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On Tuesday (June 3), U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Federal Bureau of Prisons must continue providing hormone therapy and social accommodations to transgender inmates. The judge made his decision as the Bureau of Prisons pursues a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict access to treatments.
Judge Lamberth, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, granted a request for a preliminary injunction sought by three transgender inmates who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. During their incarceration, they were also provided with hormone therapy and certain lifestyle accommodations. These include, clothing, hair removal devices, and more.
After President Trump issued his executive order on his first day back in the White House the inmates filed their lawsuit. In Trump’s order, he sought to keep federal funds from being spent on any medical procedure or treatment meant to confirm an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.
In the three transgender inmates’ lawsuit, they asked the district court in Washington to block the enforcement of Trump’s executive order while their case moves through the courts. The inmates argued that the directive and the Bureau of Prison’s actions in implementing the order violated a federal law that governs the agency rule-making process, known as the Administrative Procedure Act.
Federal Judge Blocks Donald Trump’s Order To End Hormone Therapy Treatment And Social Accommodations For Transgender Inmates
In Judge Lamberth’s ruling, he agreed that the inmates are likely to win their case with the cited merits of the Administrative Procedure Act. Furthermore, the federal judge blocked the Donald Trump administration from implementing his executive order as it relates to hormone therapy and social accommodations for transgender inmates in custody of the Bureau of Prisons.
The judge continued to order federal prisons to continue providing transgender inmates with gender-affirming care and certain accommodations, noting that this was the bureau’s policy before Trump regained office. While breaking down his ruling in a 36-page file, Judge Lamberth wrote:
“The import of the opinion is essentially this: Under the APA, the BOP may not arbitrarily deprive inmates of medications or other lifestyle accommodations that its own medical staff have deemed to be medically appropriate without considering the implications of that decision.”
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