Idaho Federal Court Makes Landmark Ruling for Transgender Inmate

A federal judge in Idaho recently held that the state must provide gender reassignment surgery to a transgender inmate who has lived as a woman for years.

A federal judge in Idaho recently held that the state must provide gender reassignment surgery to a transgender inmate who has been living as a woman for some time but who is currently housed in a men’s prison. As a result of the decision, the inmate will become the first in Idaho to receive gender reassignment surgery while incarcerated. As part of its ruling, the court found that the Idaho Department of Correction’s refusal to provide the inmate with the surgery places her at risk of being harmed.

The Court’s Decision in the Case

The Idaho courts have consistently held that ignoring an inmate’s medical needs amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In support of this argument, the inmate showed that she had a serious medical need to receive the surgery and that failure to treat her condition could lead to substantial injury and the unnecessary infliction of pain.

The United States Supreme Court has stated that while the Eighth Amendment entirely prohibits some types of punishments, it also prohibits some punishments that are excessive in comparison to the crime of which a person is convicted.

Supreme Court Justice Brennan has stated that there are several principles that are considered when deciding whether a punishment is cruel and unusual. Courts prohibit punishment that is degrading to “human dignity,” severe punishment that is inflicted in a wholly arbitrary manner, and a severe punishment that is “patently unnecessary.”

The Current Status of the Gender Reassignment Surgery

The state of Idaho currently has six months in which to provide the inmate with the surgery. Not all transgender individuals have a desire or need surgery so that their physical body conforms to their gender identity. The inmate involved in this case has already receive some treatment for her condition in the form of hormone therapy and has presented herself as a woman while incarcerated even though this led to disciplinary reports and the woman being denied parole. The woman also reports that she feels depressed and embarrassed by the presence of male genitalia on her body which has led to several botched self-attempts at castration.

The Impact of this Decision

There are very few courts that have come to similar conclusions in this area of law. The company that handles medical care for inmates in Idaho as well as 21 other states reports that it has never provided gender reassignment surgery at any facilities it operates in the United States. It remains to be seen what impact this decision will have in similar cases that occur in the future.

Continue Reading the Universal Life Church’s Blog

There have been a number of court decisions in the last few years that have substantially advanced the rights of transgender individuals. Each month, the Universal Life Church’s blog strives to document these complex developments in the law.

(image courtesy of Robert Hickerson)