The Slatest

Chelsea Manning Reportedly Wins Right to Hormone Therapy in Prison

Army Private Chelsea Mannin leaves a military court in June 2012.  

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Chelsea Manning, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence for disclosing classified documents to Wikileaks, has won the right to receive hormone therapy to transition from a man to a woman while an inmate in Fort Leavenworth prison, USA Today reported on Thursday.

The news came via a memo from an official at the prison:

“After carefully considering the recommendation that (hormone treatment) is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding (hormone treatment) to Inmate Manning’s treatment plan,” Col. Erica Nelson, the commandant of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas, wrote in a Feb. 5 memo.

The decision paves the way for Manning to receive the first course of hormone therapy administered by the Army. Manning, who went by the name Bradley until her trial, sued the federal government for access to the treatment. “Transgenders are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military and the Defense Department does not provide such treatment,” USA Today notes. “The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, does provide the treatment for veterans.”