Trump administration pushes to block gender-affirming care for trans prisoners
The request is part of Kingdom v. Trump, a legal challenge brought by three transgender federal prisoners
By Aaron Sugg
The Trump administration has pushed for the US Supreme Court to block gender-affirming healthcare for transgender people in federal prisons.
The request is part of Kingdom v. Trump, a legal challenge brought by three transgender federal prisoners. The administration is asking the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the lower court’s ruling from taking effect, so the government can enforce the BOP’s 2026 policy while the legal case continues.
As per the document, the administration argues that gender-affirming surgeries, hormones and social accommodations are “not medically necessary” to treat gender dysphoria in the prison setting.
“Irreparable harm to the government and to the public” – Trump administration on gender-affirming healthcare in prisons
It wants the court to overturn rulings blocking the government from withholding gender-affirming care to reflect the “latest scientific information” rather than information provided by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and “other biased sources”.
The administration describes a federal judge’s ruling blocking the policy as causing “irreparable harm to the government and to the public”.
Before Donald Trump’s 20 January 2025 executive order, which stated that “no Federal funds are expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex”, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had a policy of providing gender-affirming healthcare to incarcerated people based on individual medical need.
Trans rights organisations oppose the Trump administration
Trans rights organisations have spoken out strongly opposing the policy. Transgender Law Center wrote on social media: “Transgender people do not lose their fundamental rights when they are incarcerated.”
“Denying medically necessary care to people in federal custody threatens their health, safety, and dignity,” they continued.
“Alongside our partners at ACLU National and ACLU of DC, Transgender Law Center will continue defending the rights of our clients and all incarcerated transgender people.”
According to The Independent, around 2,200 transgender people are incarcerated in federal prisons, with roughly 20 trans women held in women’s facilities, according to Bureau of Prisons figures cited in court filings.