The Justice Department announced on April 3 that it is filing a lawsuit against the state of Utah for allegedly discriminating against a male inmate who demanded gender transition treatment and “appropriate accommodations” from the Utah Department of Corrections.
In an official statement, the Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit “against the State of Utah, including the Utah Department of Corrections (UDOC), alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for discriminating against an incarcerated transgender woman on the basis of her disability, gender dysphoria.”
The Biden administration’s complaint alleges that UDOC “failed to provide the complainant equal access to health care services after she repeatedly requested hormone therapy, and also failed to make reasonable modifications to its policies and practices to treat her gender dysphoria. Before filing this lawsuit, the department gave UDOC written notice of its findings and an outline of remedial measures necessary to address them.”
The Justice Department also complains that UDOC “unnecessarily delayed the complainant’s treatment,” and failed to grant the transgender man “requests for reasonable modifications, including permitting her to purchase female clothing and personal items in the commissary, modifying pat search policies and appropriately assessing her housing requests to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria.”
According to the lawsuit, twenty-two months after entering custody, the transgender man “performed dangerous self-surgery and removed her own testicles.”
In comments provided to Deseret News, UDOC’s Executive Director Brian Redd referred to an earlier statement in which they say they were working to “address this complex issue.“We have also taken steps on our own, and as a state, to address the needs of inmates while maintaining the highest safety standards.” “We fundamentally disagree with the DOJ on key issues, and are disappointed with their approach,” Redd said.
