Today, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Jessica Hicklin, a 37-year-old transgender woman incarcerated at the Potosi Correctional Center, a facility for male inmates, in Mineral Point, Missouri.
The case challenges a Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) “freeze-frame” policy that bars access to hormone therapy for inmates and others in custody if they were not receiving treatment prior to incarceration.
Although multiple medical and mental health experts have confirmed Jessica’s gender dysphoria diagnosis and have strongly advised hormone therapy, access to gender-affirming canteen items, and permanent hair removal in accordance with current treatment standards, MDOC officials continue to deny Jessica these medically necessary interventions.
Jessica has exhausted the MDOC grievance process in seeking to access appropriate care.
“MDOC’s ‘freeze-frame’ policy is harmful and arbitrary and specifically targets transgender people for discriminatory treatment,” said Demoya Gordon, Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Attorney. “This policy, like similar policies in place in correctional systems across the country, flies in the face of current medical standards.
“Several medical and mental health experts have met with Jessica and recommended hormone treatments for her dysphoria as well as hair removal, and access to gender-affirming canteen items. Unfortunately, the Missouri Department of Corrections has chosen to ignore their professional judgment and assessment, at considerable cost to Jessica. It is cruel, it is unusual, and it is something we are fighting to change for Jessica and others.”
