糖心Vlog

WASHINGTON 鈥� A federal district court judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a Trump Administration executive order prohibiting federal Bureau of Prisons (鈥淏OP鈥�) officials from providing gender-affirming hormone therapy and accommodations to transgender people. The injunction does not require BOP to provide gender-affirming surgical care. The court also granted the plaintiff鈥檚 motion for a class certification and extended injunctive relief to the full class, which encompasses all persons who are or will be incarcerated in BOP facilities and have a current medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria or who receive that diagnosis in the future. 鈥淭his is a critical ruling for our clients and all transgender people in Bureau of Prisons custody,鈥� said Corene Kendrick, Deputy Director of the ACLU鈥檚 National Prison Project. 鈥淭his administration鈥檚 cruelty towards transgender people disregards their rights under the Constitution. The denial of medically necessary health care, including gender-affirming health care, to people in prison is a violation of their fundamental constitutional rights. We will continue to advocate for the rights of all incarcerated people.鈥� 鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling is made possible by the courageous plaintiffs who fought to protect their rights and the rights of transgender people everywhere,鈥� said Shawn Thomas Meerkamper, Managing Attorney at Transgender Law Center. 鈥淭his administration鈥檚 continued targeting of transgender people is cruel and threatens the lives of all people. No person鈥攊ncarcerated or not, transgender or not鈥攕hould have their rights to medically-necessary care denied. We are grateful the court understood that our clients deserve basic dignity and healthcare, and we will continue to fight alongside them.鈥� "Today's ruling is an important lifeline for trans people in federal custody," said Michael Perloff, Senior Staff Attorney at ACLU-D.C. 鈥淭he ruling is also a critical reminder to the Trump administration that trans people, like all people, have constitutional rights that don't simply disappear because the president has decided to wage an ideological battle." Following a January 20 executive order from President Trump that prohibited gender-affirming care for transgender people in federal prisons, the BOP issued a policy stating that "no Bureau of Prisons funds are to be expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate鈥檚 appearance to that of the opposite sex.鈥� It also prohibits clothing and commissary items it deems inconsistent with a person鈥檚 assigned sex, and requires all BOP staff to misgender transgender people. In March, two transgender men and one transgender woman serving sentences in facilities in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Florida filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump Administration and BOP, challenging the Executive Order and new BOP policies prohibiting their access to gender-affirming care. The class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of approximately 2,000 transgender people incarcerated in federal prisons across the United States. All three plaintiffs were diagnosed with gender dysphoria by BOP medical providers and prescribed hormone therapy by health care staff, but either had their treatments suspended or were told they would be suspended soon. The filing argues this policy violates the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 prohibition on 鈥渃ruel and unusual punishment,鈥� which federal courts have long held includes the denial of medically necessary health care, including access to gender-affirming care. It also argues that the policy violates the equal protection requirement of the 5th Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. The case was filed on behalf of the three plaintiffs and all other transgender people in federal prisons by the ACLU, the 糖心Vlogof DC, and the Transgender Law Center. BOP also instructed officials to remove any transgender women held in women鈥檚 facilities and place them in men鈥檚 facilities, an issue under challenge in multiple separate lawsuits. Today鈥檚 order from the court can be found here.

This case presents two questions: first, whether, under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution, Union City Police Department officers possessed probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the defendant鈥檚 vehicle based exclusively on the alleged odor of cannabis, and second, whether the Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to overturn the defendant鈥檚 conviction. The ACLU鈥檚 Criminal Reform Legal Project and State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the 糖心Vlogof Tennessee filed an amicus brief arguing first, that after Tennessee鈥檚 legalization of hemp in 2019, an officer鈥檚 alleged detection of the odor of cannabis is insufficient to establish probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle in Tennessee, and second, that the court of appeals improperly held that it lacked jurisdiction to overturn the defendant鈥檚 conviction.

ANCHORAGE 鈥� The 糖心Vlog (ACLU) of Alaska, with the 糖心VlogNational Prison Project, filed a class action lawsuit today against the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) challenging DOC鈥檚 inadequate, dangerous, and inhumane health care system. The federal court lawsuit, brought on behalf of incarcerated Alaskans, contends that the state鈥檚 failure to provide adequate health care is a violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and has resulted in needless suffering, decline, and death. A years-long investigation into the inadequate physical, dental, and mental health care for thousands of incarcerated Alaskans demonstrates a critical need to fix DOC鈥檚 health care system immediately. 鈥淭housands of Alaskans depend on DOC to take care of their most basic and essential health care needs. They have no other option once they are detained. But the care they鈥檙e receiving, if they receive it, often comes too late, and is woefully inadequate,鈥� said Megan Edge, Prison Project Director for the 糖心Vlogof Alaska. 鈥淪tate officials have known for years about these unconstitutional, inhumane, and cruel conditions, but have failed to make meaningful changes. We are hopeful that the courts will mandate an overhaul of DOC鈥檚 medical processes. If they don鈥檛, Alaskans will continue to suffer and die needlessly.鈥� According to DOC, the cost of care for someone housed in an Alaska state jail or prison is $202 per day. However, this does not include medical care for chronic diseases, end-of-life, or emergency care. At the beginning of 2025, Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy announced a proposed state budget that included $481 million for the DOC. DOC鈥檚 budget has continued to grow, without safer conditions or improved health care. 鈥淲hen it comes to health care, Alaska鈥檚 prisons showcase some of the worst conditions of confinement that we鈥檝e seen anywhere in the country,鈥� said Nancy Rosenbloom, Senior Litigation Advisor at the ACLU鈥檚 National Prison Project. 鈥淭he Alaskans who we represent in this lawsuit have been subject to an egregious lack of medical care that is heartbreaking, inhumane, and violates their constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.鈥� Examples of the health care inadequacies include the following: Untreated diabetes led to a coma and time in the ICU. In July 2023, an incarcerated diabetic woman complained of severe low back pain and was diagnosed with muscle spasms. Her pain did not improve and became so excruciating that she could not walk to receive medical attention, eat meals, or use the bathroom without the assistance of other incarcerated people. Medical staff did not check her blood sugar levels even while she remained in her cell, incapacitated by pain. Approximately one week later, an officer noted that the woman had fallen out of bed and was unresponsive. Upon being transferred to the emergency room, she was found to be in a diabetic coma, a life-threatening complication of poorly controlled diabetes. She spent 6 days in the intensive care unit before returning to prison. A diagnosed chronic illness progressed to pre-stages of colon cancer. An incarcerated man was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in which abnormal reactions of the immune system cause inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine. Because of DOC鈥檚 failure to treat his disease appropriately during a previous incarceration, he suffered enormous pain and discomfort, and the colitis progressed to the advanced pre-stages of colon cancer. Untreated cataracts led to near blindness and the inability to care for other health problems. An incarcerated man鈥檚 cataracts worsened and advanced to the point where surgery was required. Because DOC failed to provide him with the needed procedure, his vision has become so impaired that he cannot clearly see the food on his plate or safely navigate the prison environment. Years after his diagnosis of bilateral 鈥渄ense鈥� cataracts and myopia (nearsightedness, with a visual acuity of 20/400 in both eyes), DOC has still failed to provide him surgery or eyeglasses. At the same time, he repeatedly asked the prison clinic for assistance, as he could not see well enough to care for his severe facial acne. He often bled from his face, at times soaking a napkin with blood. Untreated teeth lead to gross decay, oral wounds, and stitches. An incarcerated man suffered three fractured teeth, including one loose in the socket, and a knocked-out tooth. Despite requesting dental care in September 2021, he did not receive an appointment for four months, by which time he had pain and 鈥済ross decay.鈥� DOC dental staff extracted two teeth and the patient required sutures to repair wounds in his mouth caused by the fractured teeth cutting his lips. He experienced further dental problems that were not addressed, leading to severe pain and further loss of teeth. DOC has a de facto 鈥渆xtraction only鈥� policy, often offering extraction as the only treatment option, even for teeth that could be saved.