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ACLU preparing to sue Army over Manning’s gender treatment

Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney of the LGBT & AIDS Project, American Civil Liberties Union. August 12, 2014
Today, the ACLU, the ACLU of Kansas and Chelsea Manning’s civilian defense counsel, David E. Coombs, sent an official letter of complaint (PDF) to officials at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth, and also notified Defense Secretary Hagel that we intend to take legal action if the Defense Department does not provide her with proper medical treatment for her previously diagnosed Gender Dysphoria. Below please find some background info and a quote attributed to the ACLU’s lead attorney on this case for your use.
Nearly one year ago, Chelsea Manning announced that she is female and planned to seek treatment for her diagnosed Gender Dysphoria while incarcerated.  Ms. Manning requested an evaluation and treatment immediately after she arrived in August 2013 at the Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth and in September 2013 was again diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria by military doctors. Though a treatment plan was recommended by several military doctors and approved by the command at Fort Leavenworth, no treatment was initiated. Today we informed the Department of Defense that we will initiate legal proceedings if Ms. Manning does not receive appropriate treatment.
“The continued failure to provide Ms. Manning with this treatment is inconsistent with well-established medical protocols and basic constitutional principles,” said Chase Strangio, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Our constitution requires that the government provide medically necessary care to the individuals it holds in its custody. It is cruel and unusual punishment to withhold from Ms. Manning the care that the military’s own doctors have deemed medically necessary. The Army is withholding her care for political reasons, which is simply not permitted by our Constitution.”
From a medical perspective there is nothing complicated or controversial about Ms. Manning’s diagnosis or the treatment recommended by her doctors. Gender Dysphoria is a serious medical condition and hormone therapy is part of the accepted standards of care for this condition. Without necessary treatment, Gender dysphoria can cause severe psychological distress, anxiety, and suicidality. For this reason, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the American Psychological Association have issued policy statements in support of providing treatment to prisoners diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria in a manner consistent with community standards of care.
The official policy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and most state agencies is to provide medically necessary care for the treatment of Gender Dysphoria, and courts have consistently found that denying such care to individuals in detention for non-medical reasons violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.

• Chelsea Manning Demand Letter (PDF)