SCOTUS declines to halt free trans procedures for prisoners

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a brief, unsigned order denying the Trump administration's emergency request to halt transgender procedures for prisoners that are funded by taxpayers. The order leaves in place lower court rulings that such procedures must continue while the legal case works its way through the judicial system. The Supreme Court did not explain the decision, though it said Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have sided with the Trump administration.

What’s the background of the case? The Bureau of Prisons decided in February to stop providing sex-rejecting surgeries and hormones for federal prisoners identifying as transgender, according to court documents. It also stopped housing prisoners according to their self-identified genders, and halted providing body padding and wigs. However, the bureau continued providing transgender-affirming mental health services. The bureau said its decision was based on security concerns for inmates. Additionally, it said there was a growing consensus that sex-rejecting procedures were not necessary to treat gender dysphoria, according to court documents.

Several inmates sued, saying that, after years on cross-sex hormones, stopping the procedures would cause them irreparable harm. The policy violated the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, they said. A federal district judge agreed, ruling against the Trump administration. A federal appeals court later rejected the government’s request to pause the order while it appealed.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report on Brazil’s reconsideration of charges against a student for her views on gender identity.