Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) says he does not believe transgender inmates in the state’s prison system should be provided with gender-affirming surgeries funded by tax dollars.

During a December 12 press conference, Beshear was asked to comment on the “transition treatments being done” in the state’s prisons after Kentucky Republicans blasted a recent draft regulation from the state’s Department of Corrections concerning policies and procedures related to the treatment of incarcerated individuals.

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“I recognize that LGBTQ inmates may be at a higher risk for violence than other inmates,” Beshear said. “However, convicted felons do not have the right to have any and all medical surgeries paid for entirely by tax dollars, especially when it would exceed the type of coverage available to law-abiding citizens in the private sector.”

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Beshear noted that many of the practices in the draft regulation are required under the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). As The Hill reported, clarifications to the Kentucky Department of Corrections’ own regulations made in recent years also state that trans inmates should receive access to gender-affirming surgeries after “all other avenues to alleviate” their gender dysphoria have been attempted. Earlier this month, the department sent a letter to Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) seeking clarification on those regulations.

After Kentucky Department of Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews appeared before the state’s Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee last week to discuss the draft regulation, the Kentucky Republican Party issued a blistering December 11 press release accusing the Beshear administration of trying to “force Kentucky taxpayers to pay for transgender surgeries.” Crews, however, told the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee last Monday that the state has not provided a single taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgical procedure to an incarcerated person.

At last Thursday’s press conference, Beshear said that he does not support all of what is in the draft regulation and that it has been “pulled for review.” He also echoed concerns in the Corrections Department’s letter to Coleman citing conflicting circuit court decisions around the country as to whether state prison systems are required under federal law to provide gender-affirming surgeries.

“I don’t believe that that should be provided, because again, that would mean that an inmate was receiving better coverage and healthcare than a law-abiding citizen,” Beshear reiterated.

It’s unclear whether this was a statement of personal opinion or a matter of policy. Beshear added that the Department of Corrections was “just trying to get this right under federal law, and it appears at least a little unclear to me what’s required under federal law.” But as The Hill notes, the Supreme Court’s 1976 decision in Estelle v. Gamble established that denying an incarcerated individual’s medical needs violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, and as The Advocate points out, while gender-affirming surgeries may seem cosmetic, they can be crucial in treating gender dysphoria.

“For Republican lawmakers to get upset that we’re going to a Republican attorney general to try to get an opinion there on what is required, that seems a little silly and it seems like just wanting to pick a fight and argue instead of to say, ‘Let’s work together, let’s figure out what’s required, let’s figure out what’s reasonable.’ It’s trying to find common ground, middle of the road, common sense approach to an issue that we’re talking about,” Beshear said.

The gender-affirming healthcare provided to incarcerated individuals has become that latest front in the GOP’s anti-trans culture war in recent months, after Donald Trump targeted Democratic nominee Kamala Harris with ads claiming the vice president “supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners” during the 2024 presidential campaign.

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