{"id":2607539,"date":"2026-05-27T17:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-weighs-whether-prisons-can-phase-out-transgender-hormone-treatments\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:48:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:48:59","slug":"judge-weighs-whether-prisons-can-phase-out-transgender-hormone-treatments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-weighs-whether-prisons-can-phase-out-transgender-hormone-treatments\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge weighs whether prisons can phase out transgender hormone treatments"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-weighs-whether-prisons-can-phase-out-transgender-hormone-treatments%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2607539&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge in Washington reviewed whether the Trump governance\u2019s Bureau of Prisons can proceed with a policy meant to phase out taxpayer-funded transgender-related drugs for federal inmates. U.S. District Judge royce Lamberth repeatedly pressed the Justice Department about whether the policy\u2019s long-term goal is to ultimately take inmates entirely off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/very-complicated-dr-rachel-levine-dodges-sen-pauls-issue-about-sex-adjustments-for-children\/\" title=\"...Very Complicated\u2019: Dr. Rachel Levine Dodges Sen. Paul\u2019s Issue About Sex Adjustments For Children\">cross-sex hormones<\/a>, rather than just provide individualized tapering.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ argued the approach is not a categorical ban, saying inmates receive individualized tapering plans and that challenges must be brought as individualized Eighth Amendment claims instead of blocking the policy through a class action. In contrast, attorneys for the transgender inmates argued the policy functionally operates as a blanket prohibition because everyone on hormone therapy is expected to discontinue treatment eventually, and the \u201cindividualized\u201d plans only manage withdrawal rather than determine ongoing medical need.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute is part of *Kingdom v. Trump*, a class-action lawsuit by transgender prisoners challenging a Trump executive order that directs agencies to stop funding surgeries and drugs intended to help inmates \u201cconform\u201d to the opposite sex. The judge\u2019s prior, classwide injunction has effectively kept Biden-era transgender accommodation policies in place while litigation continues. Lamberth also recently renewed injunctions in related cases, including one involving where transgender inmates are housed.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >case includes roughly 600 inmates nationwide diagnosed<\/a> with gender dysphoria, with plaintiffs including violent offenders and gang members seeking continued access to hormone treatments, and it references a February 2026 BOP policy that the government says reflects medical review and prison-security concerns.After Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Lamberth said he would rule promptly but did not specify timing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal judge on Wednesday considered whether the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> can move forward with a new <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bureau-of-prisons\/\">Bureau of Prisons<\/a> policy designed to phase out taxpayer-funded <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/transgender\/\">transgender<\/a> drugs for federal inmates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, repeatedly pressed the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> over whether BOP\u2019s ultimate goal is to remove inmates from cross-sex hormones entirely.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4583404\/homan-may-force-feed-ice-detainees-hunger-strike-court-order\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Homan proposes force-feeding ICE detainees on hunger strike: \u2018We\u2019ll get a court order\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4582563\/tom-cotton-warns-fda-cybersecurity-threat-chinese-medical-devices\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Tom Cotton warns FDA about cybersecurity threat from Chinese-made medical devices<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4581952\/wes-moore-inks-bill-guaranteeing-emergency-abortion-access-hospitals\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Wes Moore inks bill guaranteeing emergency abortion access in hospitals<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo the goal is to eventually taper even post-surgery patients totally off?\u201d Lamberth asked at one point.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOJ attorney M. Jared Littman argued the policy is not a categorical ban because inmates receive \u201cindividualized tapering plans\u201d and case-by-case review.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe only categorical thing going on [is] the categorical relief that plaintiffs seek,\u201d Littman argued, arguing inmates must bring individualized Eighth Amendment claims rather than attempt to block the policy entirely through a class-action suit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing marked the latest stage in <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69717615\/kingdom-v-trump\/?page=2\">Kingdom v. Trump<\/a><\/em>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bloomberg-fires-dozens-of-journalists-after-wasting-1-billion-on-failed-vanity-campaign\/\" title=\"Bloomberg Fires Dozens of Journalists After Wasting  Billion on Failed Vanity Campaign\">class-action lawsuit brought<\/a> by transgender inmates challenging President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s executive order, which directs federal agencies to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government\/\">stop spending taxpayer funds<\/a> on surgeries and drugs intended to help prisoners \u201cconform\u201d to the opposite sex. The injunctive relief offered by the judge so far, which applies classwide, effectively requires the Bureau of Prisons to maintain <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\">Biden administration<\/a>-era transgender accommodation policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Lamberth temporarily renewed an existing injunction blocking enforcement of portions of Trump\u2019s executive order restricting transgender prison treatments while he considers the inmates\u2019 request for an updated preliminary injunction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Led in part by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/aclu\/\">American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>, the litigation has become one of the administration\u2019s most closely followed prison-policy fights, partly because the class includes violent offenders and gang members seeking continued access to taxpayer-funded hormone drugs and transgender accommodations. There are around 600 inmates across federal prisons who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to federal prison data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, among the inmates attempting to secure protections under the lawsuit is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4501043\/trans-inmates-ms-13-member-lawsuit-funded-procedures\/\">convicted MS-13 associate Oscar Contreras Aguilar<\/a>, who was convicted in connection with the 2016 murder of a 14-year-old boy in Virginia and now identifies as a transgender woman while incarcerated in federal prison, the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>previously reported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit has also roped in debate over the bureau\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bop.gov\/policy\/progstat\/5260_001.pdf\">February 2026 policy<\/a>, which the government contends has replaced earlier guidance issued under an executive order that Lamberth initially enjoined last June. Under the updated federal prison guidelines, the agency bars sex reassignment surgeries and social accommodations while generally requiring inmates currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mississippi-becomes-seventh-state-to-outlaw-sex-change-surgeries-for-minors\/\" title=\"Mississippi Becomes Seventh State To Outlaw Sex Change ... for Minors\">receiving cross-sex hormones<\/a> to taper off treatment over time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government argued in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.278186\/gov.uscourts.dcd.278186.186.0.pdf\">May 13 memorandum<\/a> that the BOP policy followed an extensive review of medical studies, prison-security concerns, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opponents-on-minor-gender-dysphoria-care-feel-medicine-is-on-their-side-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Opponents on minor ... care feel medicine is on their side - Washington Examiner\">debates surrounding gender dysphoria treatment<\/a>. The filing said prison officials concluded that psychotherapy, trauma treatment, and psychotropic medications were safer and more appropriate approaches in the prison setting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Perloff, representing the class of transgender inmates, argued Wednesday that the policy is effectively a blanket ban because every inmate receiving hormone therapy is still expected to stop treatment eventually.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe policy categorically intends to get everyone off hormone therapies we\u2019re currently on,\u201d Perloff said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perloff argued the individualized tapering plans discussed by the government merely manage withdrawal symptoms rather than allow doctors to determine on an individualized basis whether hormone therapy remains medically necessary for a particular inmate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing arrives just days after Lamberth, who is presiding over a separate lawsuit involving housing for transgender inmates, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.276959\/gov.uscourts.dcd.276959.125.0.pdf\">renewed an injunction<\/a> blocking the Trump administration from transferring biological men who identify as women into men\u2019s prisons on May 20. That case is known as <em>Doe v. Blanche<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that case, plaintiffs saw a setback in one of their core legal arguments after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41908\/gov.uscourts.cadc.41908.1208841658.0.pdf\">ruled on April 17<\/a> that transgender-identifying inmates cannot rely solely on broad categorical arguments. Instead, the appeals court found they must show individualized risks of harm, a theme Littman repeatedly invoked during Wednesday\u2019s hearing over the government\u2019s bid to cease transgender operations and treatments in prisons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4501043\/trans-inmates-ms-13-member-lawsuit-funded-procedures\/\">TRANSGENDER INMATES, INCLUDING MS-13 MEMBER, JOIN LAWSUIT TO CONTINUE TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the close of Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Lamberth said he would move quickly, but did not indicate when he would issue his order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m going to decide this as promptly as I can,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal judge weighs Trump plan to phase out federal inmates\u2019 transgender drugs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2607540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iStock-1323919275-e1773335960297.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33010,41697,35159],"class_list":["post-2607539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-criminal-justice","tag-prison-reform","tag-transgender-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iStock-1323919275-e1773335960297.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2607539"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2607547,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607539\/revisions\/2607547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2607540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2607539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2607539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2607539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}