Vice President Kamala Harris has previously said that while she was California's attorney general, she worked “behind the scenes” to ensure sex-reassignment surgeries were available to California prisoners, even though it was against state policy at the time.
Harris had bragged about circumventing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to allow transgender inmates access to health care services. include Despite refusing a request for a prisoner's sex reassignment surgery in April 2015, according to When asked about her record during her loss in the 2020 presidential primary, Harris suggested she sometimes had to go against her beliefs, but insisted she worked “behind the scenes” to ensure transgender prisoners felt safe, according to the Washington Blade. (RELATED: Kamala Harris co-sponsors bill to require schools to allow boys to participate in girls' sports)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 30: Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (L) (D-CA) and her husband Douglas Emhoff (R) wave to the crowd while riding in a car during the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 30, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In January 2019, Harris faced criticism for her anti-LGBTQ stances. Achievements That's what he said when, as California's attorney general, he refused to perform sex-reassignment surgery on inmates, according to the Blade. In an April 2015 legal filing, he wrote: report According to the Blade, Harris joined other state attorneys in denying transgender inmate Michelle Lael Norseworthy's request for sex reassignment surgery.
“Ms. Norsworthy has been treated for gender dysphoria for over 20 years and there is no indication that her condition has deteriorated to the point that she should undergo gender reassignment surgery immediately, rather than waiting until final adjudication in this litigation,” the brief reads.
In her defence, Harris argued that she provided transgender prisoners with sex reassignment surgery that they “needed” and “deserved to have.”
“On that issue, I am firmly opposed and, in fact, have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the Department of Corrections is able to provide transitional inmates with the medical care they need, require and deserve,” Harris said at a 2019 press conference, according to the Washington Blade. (Related: California stops distributing condoms to transgender prisoners without explanation, memo reveals)
According to the Washington Blade, Harris said she helped the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pave the way for transgender inmates to receive “transition-related care,” including sex-reassignment surgery.
“I believe we've reached a point where we have to stop denigrating people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and we have to understand that when we're talking about the specific transgender community,” Harris said at a news conference. (Related story: Governor Newsom signs law requiring transgender prisoners to be housed based on their gender identity)
“They've been the subject of stigma for so long and, quite frankly, a lack of understanding about their circumstances, their physical needs and other needs. It's about time we understood that better,” Harris said at a news conference.
Since California began offering sex-reassignment surgery to transgender inmates, prisons have Struggling To meet the increasing demand for sex reassignment surgery.
In California's 2021-2022 budget, 270 transgender inmates requested “gender reassignment” surgery, up from 99 the previous year. according to CalMatters said 348 gender reassignment surgeries are expected to be performed in 2023 and another 462 surgeries are expected to be performed in 2024.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Sergeant Richard Valdemar says California's transgender prison policies have led to an “unprecedented increase in violence” in a new documentary series. title “Cruel and unusual punishment” by the Independent Women's Forum (IWF)
“It happens everywhere in the federal system. I have friends in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it's happening in Arizona. The key is the public doesn't know this is happening,” Valdemar said.
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