DOJ says Utah Dept. of Corrections discriminated against transgender inmate

SALT LAKE CITY — A Department of Justice review of the Utah Department of Corrections announced its findings on Tuesday, concluding that the state’s correctional department violated the Americans with Disabilities Act against an inmate.

According to a statement from the DOJ, the Utah corrections agency “violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against an incarcerated transgender woman on the basis of her disability, gender dysphoria.”

Over 22 months, it was found that the UDOC’s efforts to delay treatment for the inmate were the cause of “(the inmate’s) distress over the (gender dysphoria) worsened, leading her to perform self-surgery to remove her own testicles in May 2023.”

The findings report outlines that the UDOC “unnecessarily delayed and restricted (the inmate’s) access to medical care for gender dysphoria.”

The reported findings by the DOJ include that the UDOC discriminated against the inmate by “refusing equal access to healthcare services, imposing unnecessary eligibility criteria for assessment and treatment for gender dysphoria that it does not require for other conditions, and failing to reasonably modify policies, practices, or procedures where necessary.”

The Mayo Clinic defines gender dysphoria as “the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth.”

The clinic suggests that some people affected by gender dysphoria could “feel at ease with their bodies, with or without medical intervention.”

In a statement released by the UDOC, the agency said “We have been working to address this complex issue, and were blindsided by today’s public announcement from the Department of Justice. We have also taken steps on our own, and as a state, to address the needs of inmates while maintaining the highest safety standards. We fundamentally disagree with the DOJ on key issues, and are disappointed with their approach.”