Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow transgender medical
care restrictions in prison
[September 29, 2026]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on
Monday to let it enforce, for now, restrictions on gender-affirming care
in federal prison.
The emergency appeal comes after lower courts blocked officials from
immediately carrying out the policy adopted after an executive order
from President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the government to continue
providing gender-affirming care like hormone therapy.
The Trump administration argues that the policy was properly adopted and
the judge overstepped. It halts surgeries, hormones and social
accommodations like wigs while allowing mental health therapy to
continue.
It was adopted after an executive order required the Bureau of Prisons
to revise its medical care policies so that federal funds aren’t spent
“for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the
opposite sex."
The government asked the high court to freeze Lamberth's order while the
lawsuit continues to play out, saying the Bureau of Prisons had
“determined that sex-trait-modification surgeries, hormone interventions
in general, and social accommodations could no longer be justified as
treatment for gender dysphoria.”
The agency said in 2025 that it was providing hormone therapy to more
than 600 inmates.
The bureau doesn’t dispute that gender dysphoria can cause severe side
effects, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, Lamberth
wrote. The Washington-based judge was nominated to the bench by
President Ronald Reagan.
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Demonstrators against transgenders rights protest during a rally
outside of the Supreme Court, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
 An divided appeals court panel left
the order in place.
ACLU attorneys for the inmates said the policy is “a direct threat
to the well-being of transgender people in federal custody and an
open violation of their fundamental rights,” and withholding
necessary gender-affirming healthcare constitutes cruel and unusual
punishment.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court has previously upheld state
laws banning certain medical treatments for transgender youth, and
restricting sports participation by transgender athletes in women's
sports.
It has also handed down shorter term decisions allowing the Trump
administration to move ahead for now with other policies rolling
back protections for transgender people serving in the military and
holding a passport consistent with their gender identity.
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