Transgender inmates, including baby killer, suing state over lack of ‘gender-affirming care’

BS BULLETIN:

Three transgender inmates in a Washington state prison are suing officials over what they claim is inadequate “gender-affirming care.”
The plaintiffs include inmates convicted of homicide by abuse in the death of an 11-month-old baby, raping children and crimes involving the sexual abuse of dogs.
Their complaints involve treatments ranging from laser hair removal and hair-growth medication to body contouring, but a federal magistrate judge says their sprawling lawsuit has serious problems.

Three transgender inmates at Washington’s Coyote Ridge Corrections Center are suing state officials over what they claim is inadequate “gender-affirming care,” but the details of both their demands and the crimes that landed them behind bars make this anything but an ordinary prison medical dispute.

The plaintiffs include Andrew Kennedy, who was convicted of homicide by abuse in the 2006 death of his girlfriend’s 11-month-old son; Michael Caldwell, who was convicted of raping two children; and Hunter Christian, whose criminal history includes sexually abusing dogs and possessing child sexual-abuse material.

All three contend Washington corrections officials have violated their constitutional rights by failing to adequately treat their gender dysphoria, and their grievances go well beyond access to hormone medication.

According to court filings, Christian has sought accommodations that include a private location for laser hair removal, while Caldwell’s claims have involved Minoxidil and testosterone treatment. Kennedy has complained about being denied body-contouring services and other gender-related care.

The inmates argue that the alleged denial of these treatments amounts to unconstitutional treatment behind bars. Washington Department of Corrections policy provides for individualized treatment of inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria, potentially including hormone therapy and other medical interventions.

But before the court gets anywhere near resolving the merits of those claims, the inmates have another problem: their lawsuit itself.

U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan issued an Aug. 11 order finding significant problems with their amended complaint, saying it remained confusing and mixed together allegations that did not apply equally to all three inmates. Vaughan also found that the complaint failed to clearly establish how many of the individual defendants were personally responsible for the alleged constitutional violations.

The judge ordered the plaintiffs to explain why Christian and Kennedy should not be dismissed from Caldwell’s case and required to pursue their claims separately.

Still, the filings offer a striking look at the debate over just how far taxpayer-funded “gender-affirming care” should extend inside America’s prisons.

Prisons have a constitutional obligation to provide inmates with necessary medical treatment, and courts have recognized that serious medical needs cannot simply be ignored. The fight here is over where that obligation ends when inmates seek increasingly specialized gender-related treatments such as laser hair removal and body contouring.

And in this case, that debate comes with another fact taxpayers aren’t likely to overlook: the people asking a federal court to intervene include a man convicted in the death of an 11-month-old baby, a convicted child rapist and an inmate whose crimes included sexually abusing animals.

For now, before any of them can convince a federal judge that Washington isn’t doing enough to affirm their gender, they first have to convince the court that their lawsuit belongs together at all.

DBS WIRE SOURCES