A federal inmate who identifies as a transgender woman is challenging President Donald Trump's executive order that directs the federal government to recognize male and female as the only two genders.
Filed on Sunday in Boston federal court, the lawsuit argues that Trump's Jan. 20 order violates the Constitution as well as federal law.
The plaintiff, who is identified in the suit by the pseudonym Maria Moe, is reportedly being represented by lawyers at rights groups including GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.
Reuters reported that the complaint appeared to be the first national challenge to Trump's order, which also requires transgender inmates to be housed in prisons that align with their biological sex and withdraws funding for gender transition care for inmates.
Accessed by the outlet on Sunday, the lawsuit was later sealed for unknown reasons.
The complaint argues that the order is discriminatory and violates the plaintiff's due process rights under the Constitution's Fifth Amendment by mandating that prison officials treat inmates differently depending on their sex.
According to the complaint, officials from the federal Bureau of Prisons notified the inmate about an impending transfer from a women's prison to a men's prison one day after Trump signed the order.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Bureau of Prisons changed how it publicly identified the plaintiff, from "female" to "male," and is prepared to deny access to the hormones that have been used since the plaintiff's teen years to treat gender dysphoria.
Additionally, the inmate's transfer to a men's prison would violate the Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, while the deprivation of hormones would violate the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the lawsuit claims.
An attorney for the inmate declined to comment to Reuters.
Newsmax has reached out to the Department of Justice, which oversees the federal Bureau of Prisons, for comment.
Lawyers for the plaintiff argue in the suit that their client would be at "extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault" if transferred to a men's facility.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare that Trump's executive order violates the inmate's constitutional rights and seeks to maintain the current housing and hormone therapy.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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