The Eighth for Edmo: Access to Gender-Affirming Care in Prisons

Abstract

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Edmo v. Corizon, Inc. held that a prison’s denial of gender confirmation surgery to a transgender prisoner constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. In doing so, the Ninth Circuit contravened a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision on similar facts. This Comment argues that the Ninth Circuit’s approach was correct, as that court properly applied Eighth Amendment precedent to assess the quality of care provided to address a prisoner’s serious medical need.