Kingdom v. Trump

Following a January 20 executive order from President Trump that prohibited gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in federal prisons and immigration detention centers, the BOP instructed federal prisons to cease treatments like hormone replacement therapy previously prescribed by BOP medical providers. BOP also instructed officials to remove any transgender women held in women’s facilities and place them in men’s facilities, an issue under challenge in multiple separate lawsuits. BOP’s new policy also prohibits gender-affirming clothing and commissary items for transgender people, and requires that incorrect pronouns be used.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of two transgender men and one transgender woman serving sentences in facilities in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Florida. All three were diagnosed with gender dysphoria by BOP medical providers and prescribed hormone therapy by health care staff, but have either had their treatments suspended or were told they will be suspended soon. The filing argues this policy violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishments,” which federal courts have long held includes the denial of medically-necessary health care, including access to gender-affirming care.

It also argues that the policy violates the equal protection requirement of the 5th Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. The case was filed on behalf of the three plaintiffs, and all other transgender people in federal prisons, by the ACLU, the ACLU of DC, and the Transgender Law Center.