A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons must continue providing gender-affirming care to transgender inmates, despite a recent executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at halting such funding. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth’s decision allows over 2,000 transgender inmates to pursue a class-action lawsuit challenging the executive order. The ruling mandates that the Bureau provide hormone therapy and other accommodations while the lawsuit is processed, but does not require surgical care related to gender transitions.
The ruling stands in stark opposition to comments from the Trump administration, which argues that allowing transgender women in women’s prisons compromises safety and misrepresents biological facts about gender. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields indicated confidence in the administration’s eventual success in the legal battle. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the inmates, has emphasized that transgender individuals possess constitutional rights.
The lawsuit was initiated by three plaintiffs—two transgender men and one transgender woman—who aim to contest the executive order issued on January 20, which directs the federal government to recognize only two genders and to house transgender women in men’s facilities. Judge Lamberth noted that the Bureau of Prisons failed to conduct a proper analysis before discontinuing care deemed necessary by their medical staff. He pointed out that this action could violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Ultimately, Lamberth asserted that democratic governance requires adherence to established laws and cannot simply bow to executive whims, underscoring that the care sought by the inmates is aimed at alleviating gender dysphoria rather than promoting any ideological agenda.
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