The Utah Department of Corrections was criticized on Tuesday for discriminating against a transgender inmate who the U.S. Department of Justice claimed was driven to harm herself after receiving numerous requests for testosterone therapy in contravention of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A federal investigation revealed that the state’s corrections department imposed “unnecessary restrictions” to prevent the transgender woman in jail from receiving treatment for severe gender dysphoria. According to the Justice Department report, the person’s emotional problems, which doctors attributed to a mismatch between her birth sex and her gender identity, significantly worsened while she was incarcerated in a men’s prison.
She underwent a risky self-operation to cut off her own ovaries after nearly two years of fighting for access to estrogen and other gender-affirming treatments.
On January 23, 2023, a sign marks the entrance to the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington. The Utah Department of Corrections was under fire on March 12, 2024, for discriminating against a transgender prisoner who the U.S. Department of Justice claimed was driven to harm herself after receiving numerous requests for testosterone therapy in contravention of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Photo: Patrick Semansky, File)To protect other residents from harm in the future, the DOJ is now pressing for quick policy changes and anti-discrimination training for all Utah correctional officers. Additionally, the state agency will be required to pay damages to the trans inmate, who was not named in the document. As of Tuesday, the money volume had not been determined.
The Utah Department of Corrections’ executive director, Brian Redd, refuted the claims and expressed his disappointment with the view of the authorities. He did not specify whether the organization might follow the DOJ’s instructions.
“We have been working on this complex problem and were surprised by the Department of Justice’s news,” Redd said in a speech. “We have even taken actions on our own and as a state to meet the needs of residents while upholding the highest security standards.”
According to a federal court decision from 2022, gender dysphoria falls under the ADA definition of disability, meaning that correctional facilities may not refuse to provide medically appropriate care to those who have the condition.
“All people with disabilities, including those who are incarcerated, are protected by the ADA, and they are also entitled to reasonable adjustments and equitable access to medical care,” according to Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
The investigation by the department found that Utah corrections officers excessively delayed the woman’s hormone therapy even as her mental health deteriorated. She had to abide by a committee, which included members with a distinct bias against transgender people, according to Deputy Disability Rights Chief Rebecca Bond, who was also required to undergo other medical procedures.
Bond criticized the state corrections section for involving both health and non-medical staff despite the committee’s single job being to control requests for health care and called the committee the “gatekeeper” of care.
Federal investigators discovered that they had failed to take simple steps to ensure it was administered properly when they suddenly approved the inmate for hormone treatment more than 15 months after her first request.
Although taking hormones can support trans people develop some desired bodily functions, such as breasts, it also raises their risk of developing a blood clot that could potentially endanger their lives in the legs or lungs. According to researchers from the Endocrine Society, which represents professionals who treat hormone disorders, these treatments must be closely monitored medically.
According to the DOJ, which assigns incarcerated people to male or female housing based solely on their sex at commitment, which is determined by a physical examination of the prisoner’s genitalia. The woman repeatedly requested to reside alone or with other women, but the investigation determined that all of those requests had been denied.
Federal investigators claim that the jail did not make reasonable accommodations to protect her while surrounded by male inmates and employees. Even as she started developing breasts, the state agency forbade her from purchasing bras, cosmetics, and women’s underwear at the canteen, and demanded touch searches from female corrections officers.
In her ADA complaint, she wrote, “The captivity is causing me quite emotional stress by not allowing me this opportunity to live my life as a person, who I believe I am and have lived life for many years.”
