The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Idaho’s request to block an inmate in a state prison from undergoing gender-confirmation surgery while the court considers hearing an appeal from the state on the case, the Advocate reports.
The court on Thursday issued a short order denying the state’s request to block surgery for Adree Edmo, an inmate at a men’s prison facility who was convicted of sexually abusing a child in 2012, who sued the state three years ago after prison officials denied her gender confirmation surgery, arguing that this caused her severe distress due to her gender dysphoria, for which she has undergone hormone therapy and counseling during her incarceration.
The state Department of Correction and the private prison healthcare company Corizon argue that Edmo’s surgery isn’t medically necessary, and could negatively affect her other mental health conditions.
However, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last year that denying the surgery violated Edmo’s Eighth Amendment right protecting against cruel and unusual punishment. The state has requested that the U.S. Supreme Court consider the case as a whole, and that the court prevent her surgery, which is scheduled for July.
“The application for stay presented to Justice [Elena] Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied,” the court wrote in a brief on Thursday, which notes that “Justice [Clarence] Thomas and Justice [Samuel] Alito would grant the application.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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