Prisoners Win Class-Action Lawsuit Over Gender-Affirming Care in Idaho

A federal judge blocked an Idaho bill banning gender affirming care for prisoners last Tuesday.

“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Provisional Class Certification, and Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. 2) is hereby GRANTED,” reads the opinion released on September 3.

The case established prisoners within the Idaho Department of Corrections as a class large enough to pause implementation of House Bill 668. Plaintiffs Katie Heredia and Rose Mills, along with the ACLU, demonstrated the “irreparable harm” that could result from an outright ban on Gender Affirming Care for prisoners.

“Plaintiffs have raised serious questions going to the merits of their claims; they have shown likely irreparable harm, and they have shown that the balance of equities and the public interest favor the imposition of a preliminary injunction,” wrote Circuit Court Judge David Nye in the review.

House Bill 668 prohibits the use of public funds for “Gender Transition Procedures” according to the Idaho Legislature’s website. The bill forbids the use of public funds for any gender affirming care and immediately prevented 54 prisoners from accessing hormone therapy. The bill was passed on March 27 , went into effect on July 2, and was condemned by the ACLU of Idaho.

“Idaho’s state senators have once again decided to cave in to the hateful demands of far-right extremists at the expense of the safety, security, and health of Idaho’s transgender community,” wrote the ACLU on March 22.

The defendants were public defender Raul Labrador, Josh Tewalt, Brad Little, Bree Derrick, and Centurion Health. Heredia and Mills claimed the house bill violated the Eighth Amendment, constituting “cruel and unusual punishment.” The preliminary injunction granted by the judge returns prisoner’s right to gender-affirming healthcare until the lawsuit is closed.

Despite this relative success, the protections will not extend to Idahoans outside of the prison system nor will they cover gender affirming surgeries for prisoners. There is no data on the number of trans people on Medicaid in Idaho. However, a UNC study found that gender nonconforming people are at higher risk for being low income, and there are probably around 7,000 transgender adults in Idaho, according to the UCLA School of Law.

Organizations and communities such as Pride Foundation – Idaho and the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund continue to provide resources and resistance for members of the trans community living in Idaho.

“All transgender people deserve to have access to medically necessary care, including those who are incarcerated. Gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition that cannot be deliberately ignored by the Idaho Department of Corrections. We are relieved that the Court has ordered that this care continue until we can get this clearly unconstitutional law struck down permanently,” ACLU Attorney Malita Picasso says in a statement.