For the second time, a corrections department has been ordered to provide an inmate with gender reassignment surgery.
U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar of San Francisco ruled that denying Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, born Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy, the surgery would be a violation of her constitutional rights.
Norsworthy, 51, is a convicted murderer who has been living as a woman since the 1990s. She has been incarcerated for over 25 years, and has received psychological counselling and hormonal therapy that "has changed her physical appearance and voice to that of a woman" for over 15 years, according to court documents.
In previous court cases, judges have ruled that such treatments are sufficient to accommodate transgender prisoners, but Judge Tigar called the allowances inadequate.
"The weight of the evidence demonstrates that for Norsworthy, the only adequate medical treatment for her gender dysphoria is SRS," he wrote, referring to sexual reassignment surgery.
Transgender advocates applauded Tigar's groundbreaking decision.
"This decision confirms that it is unlawful to deny essential treatment to transgender people," insisted Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center. "The bottom line is no one should be denied the medical care they need."
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not decided whether it will appeal the decision. Joyce Hayhoe, spokeswoman for the federal receiver who controls medical care for California's prisoners, said the surgery could cost as much as $100,000.
The first court-ordered gender reassignment surgery was a Massachusetts case that is currently being appealed at the US Supreme Court level. The only inmate that has undergone the surgery was a biological male in Texas who castrated himself-- making the procedure medically necessary.
Norsworthy is serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison, an all-male prison in Ione. The Department of Corrections has voiced concerns about Norsworthy remaining in Mule Creek post-op, but also hesitated to allow her to transfer to a women's prison due to a history of violence.
