ACLU Demands End to Discriminatory and Inhumane Treatment of Incarcerated Transgender Woman
Raleigh, N.C. - The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, and Patterson Harkavy LLP filed a motion Tuesday for immediate relief on behalf of Kanautica Zayre-Brown, a transgender woman incarcerated at Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton, North Carolina who is being denied essential gender-affirming health care. Mrs. Zayre-Brown has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition, and for several years has requested necessary treatment consistent with established medical standards. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) has refused to provide treatment for entirely non-medical reasons.
"Pride Month, Trans Day of Visibility, and beyond are saddening symbols of what every LGBTQIA+ individual has had to conquer and since October 10, 2017, I have felt and endured painfully the plight of my elders,” said Mrs. Zayre-Brown. “I am Physically, Mentally, Spiritually, and Emotionally EXHAUSTED, but my survival is key.”
The motion calls for a preliminary injunction requesting that the Court order expedited relief to allow Mrs. Zayre-Brown to obtain gender-affirming surgery while the case proceeds. In support of the motion is an expert declaration from a physician specializing in gender dysphoria who has treated incarcerated transgender patients and is on the board of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
“Mrs. Zayre-Brown's gender dysphoria is severe, and medical professionals have repeatedly made DPS officials aware of that fact. But because Mrs. Zayre-Brown is transgender, they have refused to act,” said Jaclyn Maffetore, staff attorney with the ACLU of North Carolina. “State officials cannot be permitted to turn their backs on their legal obligations to those committed to their care. DPS’s failure to provide Mrs. Zayre-Brown with the medical care she so critically needs is a violation of her rights, an affront to her dignity, and a threat to her life.”
Mrs. Zayre-Brown was incarcerated in men's prisons for almost two years, in violation of federal law and at great risk to her safety, causing extreme emotional and psychological distress. In 2019, DPS transferred her to a women's facility after months of negotiation and pressure from the community. Mrs. Zayre-Brown's legal team filed a complaint in April 2022 seeking damages and an injunction requiring DPS to provide necessary medical care and accommodations for her gender dysphoria, including consistent hormone therapy maintenance and gender-affirming surgery.
“Doctors and mental health providers all agree that gender-affirming care saves lives, and increases the quality of life for trans people,” said Kendra R. Johnson, executive director of Equality NC. “Gender-affirming care is a human right, and Kanautica should be provided with that care. Instead, she has been denied the care she needs for years, and that cruel punishment is causing her great distress. Like so many other transgender people, Kanautica has been remarkably resilient in standing up for herself, and we are proud to continue to stand with her and the ACLU as they work diligently to address this.”
“Mrs. Zayre-Brown's experiences are far too common among incarcerated transgender people, who are routinely subjected to abuse and harassment,” said Taylor Brown, staff attorney at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Records indicate there are more than 100 individuals incarcerated in North Carolina who self-identify as transgender. It is our obligation as advocates to ensure that DPS is meeting its constitutional and legal duties to all transgender people in its custody. Beyond Mrs. Zayre-Brown’s case, we hope this legal challenge is a wakeup call to the State of North Carolina and the serious problems incarcerated transgender people are facing.”
This week’s filing coincides with the end of Pride Month and the 53rd anniversary of the Stonewall riots, widely noted as the beginning of the modern movement for LGBTQ rights. The motion can be found here.
LGBTQ Rights
Zayre-Brown v. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety
LGBTQ Rights
Zayre-Brown v. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria” such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would “permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.” The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. “By passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “This unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden’s legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans — including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson’s last minute health care ban for servicemembers’ kids.” If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military’s since-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.