crimes and misdemeanors

Military Will Provide Chelsea Manning With Hormone Treatment

Chelsea Manning. Photo: U.S. Army/AP

Private Chelsea Manning’s request for hormone therapy to transition to a woman has been approved, which is a first for the U.S. military. Manning, who is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, filed a federal lawsuit in September, saying the Army was denying her medical treatment. The U.S. military does not allow transgender people to serve openly and initially tried to transfer Manning to a civilian prison for treatment. After that effort was unsuccessful, the Army said it would provide gender treatment, but Manning claims they only allowed her to wear female undergarments. Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney working with Manning, praised the decision but said, “The delay in treatment came with a significant cost to Chelsea and her mental health and we are hopeful that the government continues to meet Chelsea’s medical needs as is its obligation under the Constitution so that those harms may be mitigated.”

Military Approves Hormone Treatment for Manning