Massachusetts appeals ruling on prisoner sex change
Massachusetts is appealing a federal judge's ruling that the state must pay for the sex-change surgery of a transsexual prison inmate.
"Following a thorough review of the decision, we believe the court failed to give due deference to the fact that the Department (of Correction) has and continues to provide adequate medical treatment to address inmate Kosilek's gender identity disorder," said Diane Wiffin, public affairs director for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, in a statement Wednesday.
In an unprecedented court order earlier this month, U. S. District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf determined that sex-reassignment surgery was the "only adequate treatment" for Michelle Kosilek, who was previously known as Robert. Kosilek has been incarcerated in an all-male prison, serving a life sentence without parole for murdering his wife in 1990.
Wolf ruled "that there is no less intrusive means to correct the prolonged violation of Kosilek's Eighth Amendment right to adequate medical care."
full: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/us/massachusetts-prisoner-sex-change/index.html
Interesting. Judge Wolf is a Reagan nominee to the bench (thus would be a conservative) while the current Attorney General of Massachusetts (Martha Coakley, who lost to Scott Brown in the US Senate special election) is a Democrat. Although the CNN article doesn't mention Coakley but does quote statements from US Sen. Scott Brown and Mass. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (both R), I assume that Coakley would go before court and argue her state's position.
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