Supreme Court leaves block on transgender prison health policy in place

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to enforce a Bureau of Prisons policy ending hormone therapy, surgeries and social accommodations for federal inmates with gender dysphoria.

The unsigned, one-sentence order left intact lower-court rulings that temporarily blocked the policy. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they would have allowed the administration to implement it.

The policy followed an executive order President Donald Trump issued upon returning to office that barred federal support for treatments intended to conform an inmate’s appearance to the opposite sex. The Bureau of Prisons subsequently said it would continue psychotherapy and psychiatric services but stop hormone treatments, surgeries and accommodations such as makeup, wigs and binders.

Three federal prisoners challenged the change, saying they had received hormone therapy for years and arguing that nearly 1,000 inmates could lose treatment. A federal appeals court concluded that the policy was likely arbitrary and capricious because the bureau had not adequately considered its prior experience providing gender-affirming care.

The administration argued that the restrictions were needed to address institutional security and prison-management concerns. Li Nowlin-Sohl, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing the inmates, called the Supreme Court’s decision critical for transgender people in federal custody and said the group would continue defending access to medically necessary care.