The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a transgender inmate in an Idaho prison can move forward with gender confirmation surgery.

The ruling, which was handed down Thursday, supersedes prison officials’ decision to put the surgery on hold while they wait for the results of their appeal to an earlier decision. Adree Edmo has been incarcerated in a men’s prison since 2012, when she was sentenced for sexually abusing a child younger than 16. Claiming she has gender dysphoria, Edmo filed a lawsuit against the state three years ago because prison officials refused to allow her to undergo surgery. While waiting for the case to go to court, she tried to cut off her testicles twice in her prison cell, attorney Lori Rifkin says.

The case has drawn the attention of Governor Brad Little, who’s said Edmo shouldn’t be allowed to use taxpayers’ money to pay for a procedure that non-criminals’ insurance policies wouldn’t cover. Edmo is scheduled to be released in July 2021.

Source: https://www.kivitv.com/news/scotus-denies-idahos-application-to-pause-adree-edmos-gender-confirmation-surgery