Manning’s gender transition sets up legal showdown for life behind bars

[Catherina]

7. She'll eventually win. Several courts have already ruled it's a violation of the 8th Amendment

to withhold this medically necessary treatment.


In the case of Ophelia Azriel De'lonta, a Virginia court ruled that witholding this medically necessary surgery was cruel and that it violated her 8th Amendment rights.

"In 1999, De'lonta filed a § 1983 lawsuit alleging that VDOC had instituted a policy that wrongfully prevented her from receiving GID treatment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. As in the instant case, the district court dismissed De'lonta's 1999 complaint for failure to state a claim. We reversed and remanded, holding that De'lonta's need for protection against continued self-mutilation constituted an objectively serious medical need under the Eighth Amendment and that De'lonta had sufficiently alleged VDOC's deliberate indifference to that need. De'lonta v. Angelone ("De'lonta I&quot , 330 F.3d 630, 634 (4th Cir.2003). The parties subsequently reached a settlement in which VDOC acknowledged De'lonta's serious medical need and agreed to provide continuing treatment."

http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FCO%2020130128117

and last year a federal judge ordered Massachusetts to provide and pay for a sex change operation for a Michelle Kosilek. She hasn't had the surgery yet but they were working on it. Michelle's case ran into a few complications Chelsea won't have.

Here's a layman's version of Michelle's case: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/29/michelle-kosilek-ruling-transgender_n_1924424.html

There are a few other cases too where the courts ruled in favor.