Inmate Gender Treatment Ban — Transgender Prisoner Healthcare

SB 185 bans gender-affirming healthcare for incarcerated individuals in Georgia's prison system. The bill prohibits the Georgia Department of Corrections from providing hormone therapy, surgical procedures, or other gender-affirming treatments to transgender prisoners.

GPS opposes this bill because denying medically necessary healthcare to incarcerated people constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Major medical organizations — including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health — recognize gender-affirming care as medically necessary treatment. Incarcerated people do not forfeit their right to adequate medical care, and the state has a constitutional obligation to provide it.