Justice Department Seeks Prison Care Policy Reprieve

The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to let the Federal Bureau of Prisons enforce restrictions on gender-affirming medical interventions and social accommodations for transgender inmates while a legal challenge proceeds. Lower courts have blocked the policy from taking effect, leaving the restrictions on hold as the justices consider the administration’s emergency request. The department’s filing seeks to overturn the district court’s injunction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined earlier in September to restore the policy during the appeal. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the request, and the underlying case remains unresolved. The Bureau of Prisons policy allows mental-health services, including psychotherapy and psychiatry, for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria, but bars federally funded surgeries and hormone therapy. It also restricts social accommodations such as chest binders, wigs and breast padding. One account of the policy says inmates already receiving hormones would be placed on a reduction plan; the materials do not provide further details about how that provision would be implemented.