Idaho appeals ruling that would provide gender reassignment surgery to inmate

Meg Maclean by Meg Maclean

Idaho’s new governor Brad Little announced today that a ruling potentially providing an Idaho inmate with gender reassignment surgery has been appealed by the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC).

Originally, a U.S. District Court had ruled IDOC was responsible for providing reassignment surgery for Adree Edmo, an inmate who identifies as female. A statement from Little’s office says that if the surgery is performed, Edmo would be the first inmate in Idaho to undergo the operation while in department custody, and second in the nation.

Edmo is currently incarcerated at Idaho State Correctional Center, and is serving a sentence between three and 10 years for sexual abuse of a child under 16. She is set to be released July of 2021.

Dr. David McClusky, Idaho’s chairman of the Board of Correction, said in a statement that the court has “confused opinion with medical consensus in the case.”

“If Ms. Edmo had a broken arm, we’d all agree it should be treated,” McClusky said. “But disagreement among medical professionals in this case does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.”

Little added that Idaho taxpayers should “not be forced to pay for a prisoner’s gender reassignment surgery when individual insurance plans won’t even cover it.”

IDOC filed the appeal today, and will be passed onto the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for further deliberation.

Get your weather forecast from people that actually live in your community. We update with short, easy-to-use video forecasts you can watch on your phone every day. Download the iOS or Android app here.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.