A federal judge ruled that a Wisconsin prison inmate who was convicted of sexually abusing their 10-year-old daughter has a right to receive a tax-payer funded sex reassignment surgery.
"The rights of transgender persons and sex reassignment surgery remain politically controversial, even outside the prison context," wrote U.S. District Judge James Peterson.
"And some members of the public are outraged at any effort to improve the health and well being of inmates," Peterson continued. "But the true public interest lies in alleviating needless suffering by those who are dependent on the government for their care."
Mark Campbell, who now goes by Nicole Campbell, started serving a 34-year prison sentence in 2007 for the sexual abuse of their 10-year-old daughter. Campbell, now 49, began seeking the surgery in 2013, but up until Peterson’s ruling had been denied the procedure by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Instead, the Department of Corrections acknowledged Campbell’s gender dysphoria but opted to make accommodations such as allowing Campbell to receive hormone treatment, counseling, and wear some women’s clothing in what is typically a men’s prison.
Peterson found that Campbell has the most severe type of gender dysphoria.
He also said that since it could take up to a year to schedule an appointment with a surgeon, he recommended the Department of Corrections move Campbell to a women’s prison until then.
Peterson ruled that denying Campbell the surgery amounted to a violation of the Eighth Amendment, saying that the Department of Corrections was engaged in deliberate indifference of medical needs.
The Department of Corrections asked Peterson that if he ruled Campbell was entitled to the surgery that they first be able to move the inmate to a women’s correctional facility for a year first.
"That request came as a surprise, because previously the DOC designated any inmate with a penis to a male prison, regardless of gender identity or expression," Peterson wrote. "I decline to impose any further prerequisites on Campbell’s sex reassignment surgery; she has waited long enough."
Campbell was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child after their daughter told police that they “had sex with her, masturbated in front of her, used various sex toys with her, and exposed her to DVD and video porn movies and magazines.”
But Peterson said that Campbell’s criminal history was not relevant to the case.
"To be clear: an inmate's criminal history is irrelevant to whether she has a right to necessary medical treatment,” Peterson wrote. “Campbell continues to suffer from gender dysphoria, which causes her anguish and puts her at risk of self-harm or suicide."