A federal court judge recently ruled that a Massachusetts inmate’s sex-reassignment operation must be paid for by the state, according to The Boston Globe.
In 1993 Robert Kosilek was found guilty of murdering her wife and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That same year Kosilek changed her name to Michelle, while living in an all-male prison. Doctors in Kosilek’s prison identified sex-reassignment surgery as the only treatment for her gender identity disorder.
The legal battle began in 2000 when Kosilek filed a lawsuit against the Department of Correction after it refused to pay for her surgery. Kosilek argued that the department inaction violated her Eighth Amendment rights, the right against cruel and unusual punishment.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf sided with Kosilek, ruling that her Eighth Amendment rights were indeed violated and that the state must pay up.
While anyone who wants a sex-reassignment operation should be able to go out and get one, it is not necessary that the state provide him/her with the funds to do so.
Moreover, Kosilek’s imprisoned because she committed a crime. Prison isn’t supposed to be the happiest time of your life. It is too bad that Kosilek requested her operation after she was imprisoned.
Looking forward, we wonder how the DOC will respond to Wolf’s decision, and if any other inmates will make similar requests.
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