U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to transfer two transgender, biological male inmates to women’s facilities.
The inmates, identified as “Rachel” and “Ellen Doe” in court documents, are to be moved to women’s facilities and be provided with hormone therapy.
“The fact that they have already been transferred and, allegedly, have been abused at their new facilities can only strengthen their claims of irreparable harm,” Lamberth wrote, as per the Associated Press. The ruling affects at least 15 inmates.
Last month, Lamberth issued a temporary restraining order preventing the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that transgender women be housed in men’s federal prisons and denying them access to gender-affirming medical care. The plaintiffs argued that transferring them to men’s facilities would endanger their safety and well-being, citing a higher risk of physical and sexual violence. They also argued that discontinuing their hormone therapy would cause severe psychological distress.
A similar lawsuit alleged that Trump’s order violated “due process rights” and the “Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.”
“If Maria Moe is transferred to a men’s facility, she will not be safe,” the lawsuit claimed. “She will be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault. She may be subject to strip searches by male correctional officers.”
“Denying Maria Moe this medically necessary healthcare would constitute deliberate indifference to her serious medical needs and would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment,” the filing added.
