Trump’s Executive Order Restricts Transgender Women from Women’s Prisons
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On his first day in office, President Trump made a new rule that affects transgender people in prison. This rule says that transgender women must stay in men’s prisons and stops them from getting medical treatments that help them transition.
The rule is part of a bigger order that says the government will only recognize someone’s gender as the sex they were assigned when they were born. The title of the order is “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
It argues that supporting transgender rights is bad because it challenges the traditional ideas of male and female.
This new rule takes away protections that were meant to keep transgender women safe from being hurt or attacked in prison. The rule points to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which separates prisoners by their biological sex.
Many people who support transgender rights are upset about this. They say that this rule will make transgender inmates more likely to be attacked.
Shannon Minter, a legal expert from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, mentioned that this rule could lead to more violence and makes it hard for prison staff to keep everyone safe.
There might be legal fights about this rule soon. In the past, courts have said that prisons must protect all prisoners, including transgender people, and provide them with necessary medical care like hormone treatments.
Right now, there are about 1,500 transgender women in federal prisons, making up 15% of all women in these prisons. This rule doesn’t just affect people in prison; it also applies to transgender people being held for immigration issues.