A transgender woman in federal prison has filed a lawsuit challenging former President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating the U.S. government recognize only two unchangeable sexes. The order, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, requires transgender women to be housed in men’s prisons and halts funding for gender-affirming care for inmates.
Filed Sunday in Boston federal court, the lawsuit argues the policy violates constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The plaintiff, identified as Maria Moe, claims the order discriminates based on sex and jeopardizes her safety by mandating her transfer to a men’s facility.
The lawsuit states the Bureau of Prisons changed Moe’s official gender from female to male and plans to cut off her hormone therapy, which she has taken since her teens to treat gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria refers to significant distress caused by a mismatch between a person’s gender identity and assigned sex at birth.
Rights groups, including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, represent Moe. They argue her transfer to a men’s prison would expose her to high risks of abuse and violence. The lawsuit seeks to block her transfer, maintain her medical treatment, and declare Trump’s order unconstitutional.
The Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons declined to comment. The lawsuit, initially accessible, was later sealed for unknown reasons.
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