Court: Idaho must give transgender inmate gender surgery

A federal appeals court says Idaho must provide gender confirmation surgery to a transgender inmate who has been living as a woman for years but who has continuously been housed in a men’s prison.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday agreed with a federal judge in Idaho that the state’s denying the surgery for Adree Edmo amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill in December ruled that Edmo showed she had a serious medical need and that failure to treat her medical condition could result in significant further injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.

Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray said the department was reviewing the ruling and couldn’t comment.

Governor Brad Little issued the following statement in response to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s ruling that the State of Idaho must provide gender reassignment surgery to transgender inmate Adree Edmo.

” The court’s decision is extremely disappointing. The hardworking taxpayers of Idaho should not be forced to pay for a convicted sex offender’s gender reassignment surgery when it is contrary to the medical opinions of the treating physician and multiple mental health professionals. I intend to appeal this decision to the U. S Supreme Court. We cannot divert critical public dollars away from the higher priorities of keeping the public safe and rehabilitating offenders. ”