By: Madeline Leesman
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/
For the first time, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been ordered to secure “gender-affirming” surgery for a transgender prisoner. The prisoner has previously had their request for the operation denied by the BOP.
NBC News reported Thursday that a federal District Court judge ordered the Bureau to conduct a “nationwide search for a qualified surgeon to perform the surgery for the inmate, Cristina Nichole Iglesias,” who is a male transitioning to live as a woman.
Iglesias’ legal representative, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), provided a statement to NBC regarding the judge’s order this week.
>>“I am hopeful that I will finally get the care I need to live my life fully as the woman I am,” Iglesias' statement provided by the ACLU read. “BOP has denied me gender-affirming surgery for years — and keeps raising new excuses and putting new obstacles in my way. I am grateful that the court recognized the urgency of my case and ordered BOP to act.”
A press release from ACLU Illinois said that Chief Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ordered the BOP to compile weekly reports to the court displaying a timeline to ensure Iglesias gets the surgery and recovers before the end of the year. Iglesias' sentence ends in December 2022.
In February, I reported for Townhall how the BOP denied Iglesias’ request for “gender-affirming” surgery.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/2022/04/24/federal-court-orders-first-gender-affirming-surgery-for-transgender-prisoner-n2606229