A transgender inmate who has been receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) challenging the President’s executive order that bars the use of federal funds for medical procedures intended to change a prisoner’s physical appearance to the opposite sex. The inmate, identified as Maria Moe in court documents, has been taking medical hormones since her teenage years and has never been housed in a men’s facility since her conviction.
Trump’s executive order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” declares that there are only two sexes and prohibits federal funds from being used for any medical procedure or treatment intended to conform an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.
According to the lawsuit, Moe was transferred to a men’s prison facility and BOP records changed her sex from “female” to “male” following the signing of the executive order. The complaint claims that the transfer will leave Moe “at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault” and may lead to “worsening gender dysphoria.”
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and the BOP are violating the Fifth and Eighth Amendments and claims that Moe is “at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.”
The lawsuit also highlights the historical context of medical treatment for transgender inmates, pointing out that prior to Trump’s reversal of policies, the BOP had begun funding transgender surgical procedures for some inmates. In December 2022, for example, a federal prisoner underwent a gender transition surgery on taxpayer dollars.
Moe’s attorneys, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, claim that Trump’s executive order is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Fox News Digital has reached out to Moe’s attorneys, the White House, and BOP for comment.
