The District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked US President Donald Trump’s decision to transfer transgender women to men’s prisons, Reuters reports.
“The plaintiffs were able to prove that they would suffer irreparable harm if their request for a temporary restraining order is denied. In this regard, the court ordered the defendants to maintain the plaintiffs’ current residency status and medical care as they were before January 20, 2025,” the agency reports.
It is noted that three trans women filed a lawsuit arguing that transgender people may face violence and sexual harassment in men’s prisons, which would violate their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution.
On January 24, Trump ordered that transgender women be held in men’s prisons. The order stops medical care for inmates related to gender transition. The document also emphasizes that attempts to “eradicate the biological reality of gender are inherently damaging to women, depriving them of dignity, security and well-being.”