Supreme Court upholds pause on Trump's anti-trans prison policy
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must continue providing gender-affirming care to transgender inmates in federal prisons.
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administration → uphold → prisons
The decision, in an emergency appeal, maintains a lower court's injunction on a federal Bureau of Prisons' policy that would terminate hormone therapy and other treatments for trans inmates.
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that → maintain → inmates
The order offered no explanation behind the decision.
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order → offer → decision
It simply read, "The application for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied."
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application → read → Court
It also said Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would side with the Trump administration and would grant the application for stay.
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Thomas → say → stay
A federal district judge barred the BOP from implementing its policy this summer.
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judge → bar → policy
A second court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, also rejected the administration's request to pause U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's order.
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court → reject → order
That's when U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
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Sauer → ask → Court
As the federal judge's injunction remains in place, the legal battle over the policy continues.
Li Nowlin-Sohl, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union and a lawyer involved in this case, said the organization believes there are more than 2,000 people in BOP custody who identify as transgender.
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who → remain → custody
(The BOP stopped publishing data reflecting transgender inmates after Trump took office in 2025.
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Trump → stop → 2025
It only records male or female individuals incarcerated in the federal system.)
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It → record → system
Kingdom v. Trump represents 1,000 inmates who have a gender dysphoria diagnosis, Nowlin-Sohl explained.
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Sohl → represent → diagnosis
Of those, the ACLU believes there are about 800 who have been prescribed hormone therapy and many who are also receiving social transition accommodations, Nowlin-Sohl said.
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Sohl → believe → accommodations
In its request for an emergency stay on the earlier rulings, the Trump administration argued that providing this care poses several risks, including for recipients of this specialized care, who it argued would become "targets for attacks."
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it → argue → attacks
They also said that it raises "fairness concerns" as it would "breed resentment" with other inmates.
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it → say → inmates
Access to gender-affirming care is considered medically necessary to treat gender dysphoria, a medical term used to describe the deep discomfort caused by a mismatch between a person's assigned sex at birth and their gender identity.
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Access → affirm → birth
Without it, individuals can struggle severely with mental health issues such as heightened anxiety and depression, with some turning to self-harm and suicide.
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some → struggle → harm
Gender-affirming care can include "...hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries among others," according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
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care → affirm → Health
(In its filings, the Trump administration questioned WPATH's standards of care, which were developed by experts in transgender health and used by organizations across the world.
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which → question → world
Some people who are transgender may require hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries; others may not require any of these interventions.
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others → require → interventions
The BOP has treated people diagnosed with gender dysphoria since at least 1992, the ACLU said in response to the government's filings to the Supreme Court.
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ACLU → treat → Court
"Had BOP's doctors found this treatment unhelpful or harmful to patients or had the agency found that the treatment compromised security, surely BOP would have mentioned it in the administrative record," the ACLU wrote.
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ACLU → find → record
This is a "glaring omission" and appears to indicate that the government's arguments now are simply "contrived," the ACLU continued.
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ACLU → appear → ?
NPR previously covered the impact of the loss of hormone treatments on people who are incarcerated.
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who → cover → people
One woman said she experienced severe physical and mental anguish when she lost access to hormone treatments.
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she → say → treatments
The Supreme Court's decision is at odds with other rulings that support the Trump administration's anti-trans policy agenda.
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that → support → agenda
Last June, the court ruled that states can ban transgender girls from participating in sports at publicly funded schools.
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states → rule → schools
And in 2025, the court upheld state laws that make it illegal for doctors and other health professionals to provide gender-affirming care for minors.
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doctors → uphold → minors
In one of his first executive orders of his second term, President Trump targeted the trans community with a declaration that his administration recognizes just two sexes, male and female.
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administration → target → sexes
The Aporia
