Judge allows transgender inmates to keep receiving hormones in partial block of Idaho ban

A federal judge Tuesday ruled that transgender inmates in Idaho may continue receiving hormone treatment, narrowly blocking Idaho’s law prohibiting public funds or facilities from being used to provide transgender care.

Chief U.S. District of Idaho Judge David Nye wrote in the order that the two incarcerated transgender women who brought the case challenging HB 668 had adequately shown irreparable harm if the law wasn’t partially blocked and that they may certified as a class — meaning the women may sue on behalf of others like them, incarcerated people who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

“I’m not (a plaintiff in the lawsuit) because I want recognition. I’m doing it because it has to be done,” Katie Heredia, the primary plaintiff, said in an emailed statement. “We are just normal people who happen to be trans. We have medical conditions and deserve access to medical treatment.”

The other plaintiff, Rose Mills, said in the statement, “We really are human beings who just want to be treated like everybody else. This decision [to ban public funding for gender-affirming health care] was not people-led. It was just a few people who decided that, and the public needs to know that.”