The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for federal prison officials to stop providing certain gender-transition medical treatments to transgender inmates.
Soon after returning to office, President Trump signed an executive order directing that imprisoned trans women be housed in men’s facilities. It also barred transgender inmates from receiving gender transition medical treatments for gender dysphoria — significant distress linked to a mismatch between a person’s birth sex and gender identity.
Lower courts, however, have blocked the policy and ruled that transgender inmates must continue to receive hormone therapy while a lawsuit over the executive order moves forward. The lawsuit was filed by three trans inmates on behalf of about 2,000 transgender individuals.
D. John Sauer, the solicitor general, on Monday asked the justices to intervene on an emergency basis, arguing that the government and the public were being harmed because the lower courts have blocked a policy that prison administrators have ”determined is necessary to maintain institutional security.”
The Supreme Court requested a response from lawyers for the trans prisoners by Oct. 8.
The prison policy is one of a series of actions by the administration limiting transgender rights. The president also directed government agencies to withdraw federal funding from schools that allow transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. And the administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the U.S. military to fully enforce its ban on transgender service members. That case remains pending.
The Supreme Court has in recent years dealt with several cases involving transgender individuals. In June, the court upheld two state laws barring the participation of transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams. Last year, the court upheld a state law prohibiting some medical treatments for transgender youths, rejecting arguments that it violated the Constitution.
At the Bureau of Prisons, officials have taken the position that the benefits of hormone therapy are unclear for adults with gender dysphoria. The policy allows trans prisoners to receive psychotherapy and antidepressants but not hormone therapy or items like undergarments that match their identities.
Lawyers for transgender prisoners have said gender-transition treatment, which can include cross-sex hormones, social transition and in some cases surgery, is the only approach known to effectively treat gender dysphoria. The treatment has come under scrutiny for adolescents but has been accepted as effective for adults for several decades, and is supported by the major medical and mental health organizations in the United States.
In their suit, the trans inmates argue the administration’s policy violated their constitutional rights, including the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. They said the administration’s policy amounts to a denial of medically necessary care that has been prescribed by medical providers.
Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District Court in Washington has issued several rulings halting the policy nationwide while litigation has continued. He said the Bureau of Prisons did not adequately “consider its own experience providing gender-affirming care under its prior policy.”
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the government’s request to block the judge’s order, writing that prison officials had not adequately explained their security concerns about providing gender-transition care.
Amy Harmon contributed reporting.
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