Transgender Inmate Sues State Over Hormone Therapy

A Wisconsin prison inmate is suing the Department of Corrections for refusing to allow her to have hormone therapy in preparation for a sex change operation.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Milwaukee last week, 23-year-old Dominique Gulley claims prison psychologists have refused to transfer her from the Boscobel prison to facilities Racine or Oshkosh, where other transgendered inmates are receiving hormone therapy. Gulley claims that denying the sex-change therapy constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. She is seeking damages of $250,500, as well as $150,000 for the alleged Eighth Amendment violation.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Larry Dupuis won a 2010 lawsuit that struck down a state ban on hormone therapy for inmates. He said the state must provide the therapy if it’s deemed medically necessary to treat what’s called gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person feels they aren’t the gender they physically appear to be.

“There’s no question that gender dysphoria is a serious medical need,” said Dupuis. “The question becomes, is this appropriate treatment?”

Dupuis said it’s hard for inmates to make the case that it’s appropriate treatment if they can’t afford to hire a doctor to recommend it. In her complaint, Gulley said she is awaiting a diagnosis from a prison psychiatrist, who may or may not approve the treatment.

The Department of Corrections said it is following the established policy for inmates seeking sex-change therapy.

Gulley served time when she was 15 for hitting and seriously injuring a Dane County sheriff’s deputy while driving a car she had stolen. Her probation was revoked when she stole another car. She’s now serving an 11-year sentence.

Gulley has been diagnosed with numerous mental illnesses. However, she has never had an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria. She was taking hormones before she went to prison, and claims she dressed as a woman with high heels and lipstick. In her complaint, Gulley says she is suicidal and has been put on clinical observation for self-harm after she began cutting her arms.

The suit comes one week after California became the first state in the U.S. to approve and pay for sex-change surgery for a prison inmate. The surgery costs between $10,000 and $15,000.