Markey, Merkley, Hirono Urge Bureau of Prisons to Reverse Policy Banning Gender-Affirming Care

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (May 11, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), today wrote to Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General, and William Marshall III, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), calling on the BOP to withdraw its policies endangering the health and safety of transgender people, including its policy statement issued in February that bans gender-affirming care for people with gender dysphoria. Left untreated, gender dysphoria is associated with elevated rates of depression, self-harm, and suicidality.

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, "On February 21, 2025, the BOP issued a memo to implement President Trump's EO, requiring BOP staff to 'refer to individuals by their legal name or pronouns corresponding to their biological sex,' banning the use of funds for any 'items that align with transgender ideology,' and suspending clothing accommodations, pat search accommodations, and support programs offered to transgender individuals. In a second memo, issued one week later, the BOP banned the use of federal funds for 'any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex.' These changes have resulted in the denial-or threatened denial-of hormone treatment and gender-affirming accommodations for transgender individuals in BOP custody. On February 19, 2026, the BOP escalated its attacks, issuing a program statement titled, 'Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria.' It prohibits incarcerated people from receiving gender-affirming care, even if paid for with private funds. This practice forces incarcerated people to discontinue care, regardless of medical recommendations."

The Senators continued, "The agency has repeatedly enacted policies that strip transgender individuals of their gender identity and dignity. This includes requiring staff to refer to transgender individuals by pronouns that 'align with their biological sex' rather than gender identity and to confiscate gender-affirming items, such as undergarments, clothing, cosmetics, and wigs. These policies risk triggering mental health crises, including increased suicidality, among incarcerated people with gender dysphoria. The BOP's repeated guidance to roll back gender-affirming protections-despite a federal court order finding that the BOP's actions to discontinue gender-affirming care are likely unlawful-generate confusion about the current state of regulations and convey the BOP's indifference to court orders and the rule of law. By stripping away appropriate medical and psychiatric care, safety protections, and measures to provide dignity, the BOP is exposing transgender individuals to significant harm."

The Senators requested answers by May 21, 2026, to questions including:

1. Does the BOP plan to monitor and assess the impacts of recent policies that eliminate gender-affirming medical and psychiatric care?
2. Since January 20, 2025, how many transgender, non-binary, intersex, and gender diverse individuals have been transferred to a different facility to meet the EO's goal of housing individuals "according to their biological sex?"
3. Given that the BOP has stopped enforcing Prison Rape Elimination Act regulations related to gender identity and collecting data on gender identity, how will the BOP protect the physical and emotional health and safety of incarcerated transgender individuals?
4. How does the BOP plan to monitor and assess the impact of eliminating protections against sexual violence for this population?
5. Does the BOP plan to institute a specific process by which transgender individuals may seek assistance or lodge complaints regarding harms they experience from the recent BOP policies and actions implementing President Trump's EO?
6. Describe the specific criteria the BOP intends to use to determine whether it will allow a "social accommodation" for gender dysphoria.

###

• Print
• Email
• Like
• Tweet