Trans prisoners in Idaho can get hormone therapy again after major win in federal court

On Tuesday, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to stop an Idaho bill that banned gender-affirming care in state prisons, effectively allowing incarcerated trans Idahoans to receive hormone therapy once again.

“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Provisional Class Certification, and Preliminary Injunction is hereby GRANTED. The court certifies the protected class of all incarcerated persons in custody of the [Idaho Department of Corrections] who are, or will be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria, and are receiving, or would receive hormone therapy,” wrote Judge David Nye of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho for Robinson v. Labrador. “The Court enjoins enforcement of [H.B. 668]’s prohibition on the use of state funds for purposes of providing hormone therapy as against the class while this lawsuit is pending.”

Related:

Supreme Court will hear gender-affirming care ban case. It could change everything for trans rights.

A ruling in this case could have wide-ranging effects on legal issues concerning trans people for years to come.

The bill, H.B. 668, banned the use of public funds for any gender-affirming procedure, which includes hormones and surgeries. Republican state lawmakers in the House State Affairs Committee sponsored the bill. It was signed into law in March of this year by Gov. Brad Little (R). 

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The injunction only affects the use of public funds for prisons and does not extend to non-incarcerated trans people. This also does not extend to gender-affirming surgery.

In support of the injunction, Judge Nye argues that the plaintiffs in the case made substantial arguments in favor of the importance of gender-affirming care, the social impact that this type of restriction will have, and the effect it will have on transgender individuals across the state. While he does detail some areas in which the plaintiffs fell short in their arguments, he nevertheless argued that the evidence presented supports the need for an injunction.

Nye initially denied the request to make this lawsuit a class action. It was only after receiving further data from the plaintiffs indicating that there are 54 incarcerated individuals on gender-affirming care and 70 diagnosed with gender dysphoria was Nye convinced.

The lawsuit centers around two incarcerated transgender women who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria and who were receiving hormone replacement therapy and would have had their care placed at risk because of H.B. 668. The case was made into a class action lawsuit to represent all of Idaho’s known trans prisoners, which the ACLU of Idaho argues faced an Eighth Amendment violation.

The plaintiffs in this case are Katie Heredia and Rose Mills, the two transgender women in question. They are represented by the ACLU of Idaho and local attorneys. The defendants are Attorney General Raul Labrador, Governor Brad Little, IDOC director Josh Tewalt, IDOC Chief of Staff Bree Derrick, and Centurion Health of Idaho.

ACLU of Idaho legal director Paul Carlos Southwick said of this ruling in a statement, “We are grateful that this class action lawsuit will protect the rights of both our plaintiffs and all incarcerated people diagnosed with gender dysphoria. People who are serving time have a right to access health care, adequate food, and housing conditions while in the state’s care, and we are grateful those rights were upheld today.”

LGBTQ Nation reached out to the ACLU of Idaho and the office of the Attorney General for comment. Neither responded before publication. This article will be updated accordingly.

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