President Trump has ordered federal prisons to house transgender inmates in male facilities and suspend medical treatment related to gender transition.
The move was part of a broad executive order issued by Mr. Trump on his first day in office aimed at limiting government recognition of an individual’s gender to their sex at birth.
The Prisoners Directive also applies to detainees with immigration backgrounds and is one of the most concrete parts of the ordinance. Mr. Trump imposed some restrictions on housing and health care for transgender prisoners during his previous term, but the new measure went further.
The Women’s Liberation Front, which defines women based on their sex at birth and advocates single-sex prisons, called the directive a “major victory.” The group is challenging a California law that allows inmates to request housing that matches their gender identity. It argues that the law violates the constitutional rights of inmates who are not transgender, including the Eighth Amendment right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
Mr. Trump’s order echoes these arguments, asserting that “efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by stripping them of their dignity, safety and well-being.”
Advocates for transgender people and inmates criticized the order, saying it would put them in danger.
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