The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) sued a Utah prison Tuesday for its delay in providing a transgender-identified inmate with sex change hormones.
The lawsuit alleges the Utah Department of Corrections’ (UDOC) imposed “unnecessary barriers” on the inmate’s access to hormones and failed to “make reasonable modifications to its policies and practices” to accommodate the individual, a male who identifies as female. The UDOC failed to grant various requests made by the inmate, including “permitting her to purchase female clothing and personal items in the commissary, modifying pat search policies and appropriately assessing her housing requests to avoid discrimination,” according to the DOJ’s press release.
The UDOC’s policies illegally discriminate based on gender dysphoria in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the DOJ alleged.
“Defendant has also imposed unnecessary eligibility criteria for evaluation and treatment for gender dysphoria for incarcerated persons at UDOC that it does not require for other health conditions,” the lawsuit states.
DOJ Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement that her division is committed to “protecting the rights of all people with disabilities in our country, including those who experience gender dysphoria.”
“People with gender dysphoria, including those held in jails and prisons, are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are entitled to equal access to medical care just like anyone else with a disability,” Clarke said. “Delays or refusals to provide medical treatment for people with gender dysphoria can cause irreparable harm, including debilitating distress, depression, attempts at self-treatment and even death by suicide.”
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