US Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Ban On Hormone Therapy For Transgender Prisoners
US Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Ban On Hormone Therapy For Transgender Prisoners
The prisoners argued that the policy represents a sudden departure from decades of practice and could end access to treatment for nearly 1,000 people in federal custody.
The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from suspending hormone therapy and other gender-affirming treatments for transgender prisoners in federal custody, delivering a rare legal setback to the president’s policies on transgender rights.
According to CNN, the court issued a one-sentence order preventing the policy from taking effect but did not provide an explanation for its decision. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the ruling without stating their reasons.
The decision followed legal challenges by three transgender prisoners who said they had received hormone therapy for years before the administration moved to discontinue the treatment.
The prisoners argued that the policy represents a sudden departure from decades of practice and could end access to treatment for nearly 1,000 people in federal custody.
Trump introduced the policy through an executive order signed on his first day back in the White House in January 2025. The order prohibited medical procedures, treatments or drugs intended to change an inmate’s appearance to match the opposite sex.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons subsequently introduced restrictions that allowed psychotherapy and psychiatric services for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria but barred hormone therapy, surgery and certain social accommodations, including access to clothing and makeup associated with their gender identity.
A federal district court and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocked the restrictions from taking effect while the legal challenge continued.
In a ruling last month, the appeals court found that the Bureau of Prisons had likely acted arbitrarily by failing to adequately consider its previous experience providing gender-affirming care before introducing the new restrictions.
The Trump administration challenged that decision at the Supreme Court, arguing that the bureau had considered its past practices and concluded that the treatments and accommodations raised security and prison-management concerns that outweighed their benefits.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the restrictions, questioned the administration’s security argument. The organisation told the Supreme Court that the Bureau of Prisons had not identified a single security incident linked to the provision of hormone therapy during the previous 30 years.
The latest ruling marks a setback for Trump’s broader efforts to restrict transgender rights since returning to office. The Supreme Court has previously allowed his administration to enforce a ban on transgender people serving in the military and a policy requiring US passports to reflect a person’s sex assigned at birth.
The court also upheld state laws prohibiting transgender athletes from competing on girls’ sports teams earlier in 2026.
Trump made transgender-related policies a major issue during his 2024 presidential campaign, including through television advertisements attacking Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over her position on transgender issues.
The Supreme Court’s latest order leaves the administration unable to implement the disputed prison treatment restrictions while the legal proceedings continue.
