Bureau of Prisons issues "Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria" policy

Guidance/memoBOP

Date
Actor
DOJ / Federal Bureau of Prisons
Agency
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
Type
Guidance/memo
Section
2026 DEVELOPMENTS SWEEP (JANUARY–AUGUST 2026)

Summary

BOP issues a February 19, 2026 policy titled "Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria," which effectively bans gender-affirming care in federal custody, operationalizing EO 14168's directive that BOP not expend funds on "any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex." (see also section 7)

Status

Enjoined by the district court; the government appealed and the D.C. Circuit stayed the lower-court ruling in June 2026, after which a separate injunction issued blocking BOP actions — leaving enforcement contested. Update, Sept. 23, 2026: On Sept. 18, 2026, a per curiam D.C. Circuit panel (Wilkins, Walker, and Garcia, JJ.) dismissed as moot the government's motion to stay the district court's since-expired June 17, 2026 injunction and denied its motion to stay the district court's (Lamberth, J.) August 26, 2026 reissued injunction against BOP Program Statement 5260.01 (D.C. Cir. Nos. 26-5236 and 26-5310, consolidated), holding the government had not shown a likelihood of success on its arguments that the policy was arbitrary and capricious, that the injunction violated the PLRA, or that classwide relief was improper (Walker, J., dissenting); the clerk was directed to set a merits briefing schedule, and the reissued injunction remains in effect.

As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.

Related litigation

Sources