AG Coleman: Dept. of Corrections does not have to fund gender-affirming surgery for trans inmates
Kentucky’s attorney general said Thursday the state Department of Corrections is not required to fund gender-reassignment surgeries for transgender inmates, calling any suggestion otherwise “simply absurd.”
The opinion from Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman issued in response to a Dec. 6 request for his official opinion from DOC Commissioner Cookie Crews.
Crews’ three-page letter to Coleman stemmed from new, proposed rules by the Department of Corrections that would clarify and broaden protections for trans inmates to comply with federal standards. The rules drew sharp ire from Republicans last week, and Coleman sought Crews’ opinion on whether the department is “required to provide and cover the cost of gender-reassignment surgery for a transgender state inmate in a state prison when a medical professional or panel of medical professionals has deemed it ‘medically necessary.’”
Coleman’s short answer: no.
“The idea that Kentucky taxpayers should be forced to pay for gender surgeries for convicted criminals was simply absurd,” Coleman said in a statement Thursday. “As a matter of law and common sense, this opinion should settle the question once and for all.”
The DOC changes to its administrative regulations, which act as official department policy, would expand protections for transgender inmates by, for example, ensuring they have access to appropriate medical and mental health services and are housed in facilities that align with their gender identity. And if a trans inmate requests gender-affirming care, the changes lay out the protocol for staff to meet that request, including extensive mental health evaluations and, potentially, medical interventions.
The actual proposed rules, however, characterize gender-affirming surgery as a near-last resort. Most of the 10 pages of regulations on the subject describe protocols for staff to ensure the safety of the minority group, which is often at “particularly high risk for physical or sexual abuse or harassment,” the regulations say.
Coleman said the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment, does not mandate an inmate receive every medical treatment he or she desires.
“An inmate’s“desire for additional or different treatment does not suffice by itself to support an Eighth Amendment claim,” the opinion read.
In a legislative committee meeting and on social media last week, Republicans accused Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and his administration of hiding the ball and trying to use taxpayer dollars to pay for those gender-affirming surgeries.
Outgoing Senate Floor Leader Damon Thayer told Crews in that committee meeting, “You’re wasting your time (and) our time, and frankly this administration’s pursuit of this out-of-the-mainstream taxpayer-funded procedure is an insult, and you ought to just stop. Because if you don’t, it’s going to blow up into a much bigger issue than just this subcommittee today.”
Beshear told the Herald-Leader that the rules were intended to align with federal standards of care, and he distances himself from some of the proposals. A spokesperson for Beshear said last week, “The governor does not support the inclusion of gender-reassignment surgeries for incarcerated felons in the regulation.”
The DOC’s letter to Coleman cites the department’s concern with the potential legal liability of not providing such care if requested, since courts in other states have found that refusing to provide such care can “give rise to claims for violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.”
But in Coleman’s six-page opinion, he said the answer to the department’s question should be “self-evident.”
“Common sense dictates that it is not ‘cruel and unusual’ for the department to decline to spend taxpayer dollars on such controversial medical procedures. Fortunately, there is no controlling legal authority that compels the department to abandon common sense.”
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 12:20 PM.
