Judge blocks Idaho ban on providing hormones to transgender inmates, as lawsuit continues

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the state of Idaho from enforcing House Bill 668, a law banning the use of public funds to provide gender-affirming care.

In March, the state legislature passed a law banning Medicaid or private insurance for state employees from covering gender-affirming health care, including medication and surgeries. The law, also known as the No Funds for Gender Transition Act, also bars governmental health care providers and public facilities from being used for such care.

In July, three incarcerated transgender women and the ACLU filed a lawsuit saying denying them necessary medical treatment violated prisoners’ “Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.”

To qualify for a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs must show they are “likely to suffer imminent, irreparable harm.”

On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge David Nye ruled the plaintiffs ”raised serious questions” on the merits of their claim and showed that, without an injunction, they would be likely to suffer irreversible harm while the case makes its way through the courts.

The law prohibits offering hormone therapy to inmates, even if it has been prescribed by a medical professional.

“There is no dispute that Gender Dysphoria is a serious medical need,” the judge wrote in his memorandum. The parties disagree on whether or not denying hormones to inmates with gender dysphoria poses a risk to their health.

“The Court recognizes that the challenged statute prohibits the use of State funds for hormone therapy, not necessarily the therapy itself. However, for incarcerated individuals with no source of income, the ban on using State funds is the functional equivalent of a ban on therapy,” Nye noted.

The judge also ruled the plaintiffs showed sufficient evidence for a class action lawsuit and granted their request for certification.

“There are between sixty and seventy individuals in IDOC custody who have been diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria, and that fifty-four of those individuals—including the named Plaintiffs—were receiving hormone therapy as treatment for their diagnoses before [the law] took effect,” the memorandum reads.

The case only challenges the refusal to provide hormonal therapy to inmates, not the law’s prohibition on gender-affirming surgeries.

Two of the plaintiffs initially filed the lawsuit under the pseudonyms Jane Roe and Jane Poe but have since decided to use their legal names.

In a statement released by the ACLU, primary plaintiff Katie Heredia said she did not join the lawsuit for recognition.

“I’m doing it because it has to be done,” she said. “We are just normal people who happen to be trans. We have medical conditions and deserve access to medical treatment.”

Boise State Public Radio reached out to the office of Attorney General Raúl Labrador for comment and will update this story as it develops.