Federal judge blocks Trump administration from transferring transgender woman in prison to men’s facility

A judge has temporarily blocked federal prison officials from transferring an incarcerated transgender woman to a mens facility and denying her access to gender-affirming care after an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.  U.S. District Judge George OToole issued the temporary restraining order Sunday while the case was sealed.At a hearing in Boston on Thursday, OToole confirmed from the bench that the inmate, identified in court filings by the pseudonym Maria Moe, is back in the general population after prison officials moved her to a special housing unit and receiving her hormone therapy, her lawyers said.  OToole, an appointee of former President Clinton, ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) not to change from that position until he decides whether to issue a longer injunction.  Moe sued the Trump administration Sunday over an executive order declaring the government recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and broadly preventing federal dollars from being spent on what Trump and his administration call gender ideology. The order, which Trump signed on his first day back in office, explicitly prohibits womens prisons and detention centres from housing transgender female inmates. It directs the incoming attorney general to ensure BOP complies with the order, including its prohibition on using federal funds to cover inmates gender-affirming care.  Moes attorneys had argued that transferring Moe, who began taking hormones as a teenager and has no violent disciplinary history, to a mens facility would put her at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault.   She has never been housed in a mens facility, and until this month, her sex was listed as female on BOP records. Prison staff moved Moe to a special housing unit on Jan. 25 as they prepared to transfer her in compliance with Trumps executive order, where she had no contact with others for at least four days, her lawyers said.  The outcome of yesterdays hearing was a huge relief to Maria Moe. She is back in the general population and receiving necessary medical care, said Jennifer Levi, an attorney with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, representing Moe with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a private law firm, Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Trumps Gender Ideology Executive Order is contrary to the health and safety of incarcerated people, undermines prison security for all, and protects no one. Its part of a seemingly sustained attack on transgender peoples inclusion in civic life.  The Courts remain an important backstop, Levi said Friday in an emailed statement. This is a great first step in the case.  The post Federal judge blocks Trump administration from transferring transgender woman in prison to mens facility appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.