LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a class action lawsuit against officials with the Kentucky Department of Corrections and a corporate health care provider.
The lawsuit is "seeking relief for current and future transgender people who are incarcerated and who are being deprived of medically necessary and appropriate treatment for Gender Dysphoria," according to a news release Monday.
The suit was filed July 14 on behalf of lead plaintiff, Maddilyn Marcum and several others. Marcum was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria in 2009 and received hormone therapy under a licensed medical provider's care for five years prior to her incarceration, according to the release.
The Department of Corrections eventually acknowledged Marcum's diagnosis in 2016 and recognized the medical necessity of prescribing hormone therapy for her condition, according to the release.
The suit states Marcum and 66 other current prisoners are being denied — or will soon be denied — access to "gender affirming care" after Senate Bill 2 passed the General Assembly in 2025.
"Untreated Gender Dysphoria creates a substantial risk of severe physical and psychological harm to the individual, which I have personally suffered from in my life," Marcum was quoted as saying in the written release. "This case is not about a lifestyle choice, it is about ensuring that I and others receive medically accepted, appropriate healthcare for a diagnosed condition."
William Sharp, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in the release that "people who are incarcerated are already serving the sentence they received, and added that Constitution does not permit inmates to "be denied adequate healthcare simply because politicians disagree with the treatment that the medical community recognizes as appropriate and that medical providers have prescribed."
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