A transgender woman incarcerated in a federal prison has filed a lawsuit challenging former President Donald Trump’s executive order, which mandates that the U.S. government only recognise two unchangeable genders and requires transgender inmates to be housed in facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth.
The lawsuit, filed on Sunday in a Boston federal court, argues that the order violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law by effectively stripping transgender individuals of legal recognition and necessary medical care. The plaintiff, identified under the pseudonym Maria Moe, is represented by legal advocacy groups, including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).
First Legal Challenge to Trump’s Order
The lawsuit marks what appears to be the first legal challenge to Trump’s executive order, which was signed on January 20—the day he returned to office. The order directs the federal government to:
- Recognize only two biologically distinct sexes (male and female).
- Require transgender women to be housed in men’s prisons.
- End funding for gender-affirming medical care for incarcerated individuals.
According to the lawsuit, the policy discriminates based on sex in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause by requiring prison officials to treat inmates differently based on their assigned sex at birth. The plaintiff further argues that her forced transfer to a men’s prison would violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that denying her medically necessary hormone therapy would breach the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
Moe stated in the lawsuit that one day after Trump signed the order, officials from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) informed her that she would be transferred from a women’s prison to a men’s facility. The lawsuit also revealed that the BOP reclassified Moe’s gender from “female” to “male” in its records and is preparing to cut off access to her hormone treatment, which she has been receiving since she was a teenager, to manage gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is a clinical condition recognized by medical professionals as significant distress caused by the misalignment between a person’s gender identity and the sex assigned at birth. The lawsuit argues that placing Moe in a men’s prison would expose her to an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent Moe’s transfer and maintain her access to necessary medical care while asking the court to declare Trump’s executive order unconstitutional.
Neither the U.S. Justice Department nor the Bureau of Prisons has commented on the case. An attorney representing Moe also declined to comment.
Reuters initially accessed the lawsuit on Sunday before it was sealed for unknown reasons. The legal challenge is expected to become a major test case for transgender rights under the Trump administration’s policies.
The lawsuit does not disclose the crime for which Moe was convicted.