U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed help for a coverage that gave transgender individuals who depend on the state for healthcare — together with inmates and people in immigration detention — entry to gender-affirming therapy, together with surgical procedure.
- In 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris did categorical help for a coverage that will give entry to trans individuals who rely on state-funded well being care — together with inmates and detained immigrants — to gender-affirming care, which incorporates surgical procedure.
- Harris and her marketing campaign have declined to say whether or not she nonetheless supported it in 2024.
- Nonetheless, it has been the coverage in federal prisons since no less than 2016, in line with Bureau of Federal Prisons’ steering issued in 2016 and up to date in 2022. Each President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have maintained it. The coverage follows the medical suggestions of each main medical affiliation within the U.S.
- In 2022, a court docket ordered the primary gender-affirming surgical procedure for a trans federal inmate, affirming this long-standing coverage. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court docket allowed an enchantment to face that dominated gender dysphoria may very well be included within the People with Disabilities Act.
Because the 2024 U.S. presidential election drew close to, supporters of Republican former President Donald Trump and his marketing campaign launched a video advertisement accusing his opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, of supporting gender transition surgical procedure for undocumented immigrants in custody:
Narrator: Underneath liberal borders czar Kamala Harris, unlawful aliens are pouring into our nation, together with murderers, rapists and even terrorists. As a substitute of paying for his or her crimes and receiving justice, Kamala will give felony unlawful aliens taxpayer-funded transgender surgical procedures.
Harris: “surgical procedure for prisoners for prisoners. Each transgender inmate would have entry.”
Narrator: Loopy liberal Kamala is for they/them President Trump is for you.
Make America nice. Once more, inc is chargeable for the content material of its promoting.
Trump beforehand made that accusation throughout his Sept. 10, 2024, debate towards Harris. The video clip of the talk circulated extensively on social media:
This X submit (archived) had amassed 12.4 million views and 167,000 likes as of this writing. Throughout the debate, Trump added, “this can be a radical left liberal that will do that.” Later, X and Tesla proprietor Elon Musk shared a video of Harris asserting the identical factor.
The rumor additionally appeared in a separate TV commercial for the Trump marketing campaign on the finish of September 2024 that claimed “even the liberal media had been shocked” by Harris’ stance on gender-affirming surgical procedure for inmates (archived):
Voice-over: Kamala helps taxpayer funded intercourse adjustments for prisoners.
Harris: … surgical procedure for prisoners, for prisoners, each transgender inmate within the jail system would have entry.
Voice-over: It is exhausting to imagine, but it surely’s true, even the liberal media was shocked. Kamala helps taxpayer funded intercourse adjustments for prisoners and unlawful aliens.
Harris: Each transgender inmate would have entry.
Voice-over: Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.
Trump: I am Donald J. Trump and I approve this message.
The declare is true. Throughout her first presidential marketing campaign in 2019 and 2020, Harris endorsed gender-affirming surgical procedure for individuals who rely on the state to obtain well being care. In a 2019 questionnaire for the American Civil Liberties Union, Harris answered “sure” to query 14, which requested:
As President will you employ your government authority to make sure that transgender and nonbinary individuals who depend on the state for medical care — together with these in jail and immigration detention — may have entry to complete therapy related to gender transition, together with all needed surgical care? If sure, how will you achieve this?
After ticking the “sure” field, she elaborated, including that she had already supported these insurance policies in her capability as lawyer normal of California (emphasis ours):
It is crucial that transgender people who depend on the state for care obtain the therapy they want, which incorporates entry to therapy related to gender transition. That is why, as Legal professional Basic, I pushed the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to supply gender transition surgical procedure to state inmates. I help insurance policies guaranteeing that federal prisoners and detainees are in a position to receive medically needed take care of gender transition, together with surgical care, whereas incarcerated or detained. Transition therapy is a medical necessity, and I’ll direct all federal businesses chargeable for offering important medical care to ship transition therapy.
By definition, people who find themselves held in federal detention amenities for migrants and federal prisons rely on the state for medical care, which is due to this fact funded with taxes. It’s the place of all reputable medical associations within the U.S. that gender-affirming care is well being care, and that the course of therapy needs to be agreed on by a affected person (and their household if they’re younger) and their physician. The Federal Bureau of Prisons of the Division of Justice issued guidance in 2022 relating to the therapy of transgender offenders, and it outlines the process for inmates to request surgical procedure:
9. Surgical procedure
Whereas not all inmates who establish as transgender could also be desirous about searching for surgical intervention, such a call doesn’t preclude them from acquiring different lodging as described on this Program Assertion. For transgender inmates in Bureau custody, surgical procedure stands out as the remaining stage within the transition course of and is mostly thought-about solely after one 12 months of clear conduct and compliance with psychological well being, medical, and programming providers on the gender affirming facility. As soon as that interval elapses, an inmate could submit a request to his or her Warden requesting surgical consideration. The Warden will ahead the request to the TEC [Transgender Executive Council]. The TEC is the only physique who could decide that each one milestones and particular person targets for surgical consideration have been met. When this happens, the case is referred to the company’s Medical Director for medical consideration. She or he could evaluation current data and/or interview the inmate, establishment workers, and members of the TEC. After this individualized evaluation, the Medical Director will decide if the surgical procedure is medically acceptable for referral to a gender affirming surgeon.
In impact, offering gender-supporting care in federal detention amenities, together with surgical procedure, was already the coverage by the point this declare started to unfold. In reality, these insurance policies have been in place since at least 2016, in line with the BOP.
In 2022, a district court docket affirmed this coverage by ruling {that a} federal inmate should receive gender-reassignment surgical procedure. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an appeal to face that dominated gender dysphoria may very well be included within the People with Disabilities Act.
In an interview on CNN at the end of August 2024, Harris outlined a few of methods she modified her coverage proposals, however she additionally added that her “values haven’t modified.” As of this writing, the marketing campaign hadn’t mentioned whether or not she maintained her help of giving trans inmates entry to gender-affirming care, together with surgical procedure, solely that “that questionnaire just isn’t what she is proposing or operating on,” the Harris marketing campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, mentioned on Fox News on Sept. 10, 2024.
