Kosilek v. Spencer

Plaintiff was an anatomically male prisoner in her mid-sixties who suffered from gender identity disorder and self-identified as a female. Plaintiff, who was incarcerated in a medium security male prison in Massachusetts, filed a complaint against the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), alleging that the DOC was denying her adequate medical care by not providing her with sex reassignment surgery. Although the DOC was providing Plaintiff with hormonal and other medical treatment, the district court issued an order requiring the Commissioner of the DOC to provide Plaintiff with sex reassignment surgery, concluding that the DOC’s failure to provide the surgery violated Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights. The First Circuit affirmed. The First Circuit reversed the district court’s order of injunctive relief, holding that, in light of the community standard of medical care, the adequacy of the provided treatment, and the DOC’s concerns related to safety and prison security, the care provided to Plaintiff by the DOC did not violate the Eighth Amendment. Remanded with instructions to dismiss the case. View "Kosilek v. Spencer" on Justia Law