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Phillips State Prison in Buford, Georgia, where Jane Doe is housed
The Biden administration had previously supported the incarcerated woman, identified only as Jane Doe in the case.
The Department of Justice has officially withdrawn a statement of interest supporting the attempts by a transgender woman inmate to obtain gender-affirming care and surgery while incarcerated in Georgia. The DOJ under President Joe Biden issued the statement of interest in the case last year, saying the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as the incarcerated trans woman’s constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
The lawsuit, Jane Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, et. al., was filed on December 6, 2023, and alleges the prisoner, identified only as Jane Doe, was provided inconsistent gender-affirming care and denied gender-affirming surgery while incarcerated at Phillips State Prison in Buford, Georgia.
Related: White House gender-affirming care post is full of lies
“GDC has refused to treat Ms. Doe despite her severe and overwhelming gender dysphoria, which includes two castration attempts, multiple suicide attempts, and almost daily self-harm,” the original complaint states. “GDC’s refusal to provide her with necessary care has worsened her gender dysphoria symptoms by feeding the thought that Ms. Doe might never be able to live in a body that looks like her gender identity.”
Doe claims the gender-affirming surgery was recommended by four clinicians, and has led to dire consequences.
Related: HHS to remove gender dysphoria from protected disabilities
“Because of the inadequate care and exacerbation of her gender dysphoria, Doe has engaged in repeated self-harm, including attempts at suicide and self-castration,” Biden’s DOJ said in a press release dated January 8, 2024.
The Biden DOJ noted that “gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition” that, left untreated, can result in “significant adverse mental health outcomes.”
Related: AG Bondi to prosecute gender-affirming care for minors as FGM
Trump’s DOJ painted a far different picture of both the case and its views on the validity of gender dysphoria and gender-affirming care.
“The prior administration’s arguments in transgender inmate cases were based on junk science,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a press release on Friday. “There has never been an Eighth Amendment right for inmates to demand elective and experimental surgeries. States’ limited resources need not be wasted to provide these dubious surgeries to inmates. The prior administration’s nonsensical reading of the Americans with Disabilities Act was an affront to the very people the statute intended to protect.”
All major medical associations in the U.S. recommend gender-affirming care for transgender people.
In the suit, Doe seeks access to gender-affirming care and transfer to a prison for women.
