The Supreme Court has ruled that deliberate indifference to a serious medical need is a violation of the 8th Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Yet Indiana legislators are moving a bill that would deny necessary medical care to incarcerated transgender Hoosiers.
Every reputable medical organization has found that some transgender people need gender affirming care, which is often life-saving medical care. The courts have agreed, finding gender dysphoria to be a serious medical issue, requiring appropriate treatment.
HB 1569 would categorically force the DOC to deny medically accepted, evidence-based treatments to incarcerated transgender people – placing their health at risk. It would deny this care based solely on the fact that they are transgender.
This bill is, in short, wildly unconstitutional.
The experts and the courts agree that appropriate medical care for transgender people is necessary and life-saving. If the legislature can deny a form of healthcare arbitrarily, they could just as easily deny other lifesaving treatments, such as cancer care.
This bill is one of a record-breaking number of bills filed this session explicitly singling out LGBTQ people in Indiana for discriminatory treatment. LGBTQ Hoosiers, like all people, deserve equal protection under the law and the ACLU of Indiana will use every tool available to fight each of these attacks.
Let your legislator know you oppose anti-LGBTQ legislation.
