$4 Million in California Taxpayer Funds Spent on ‘Gender-Affirming Enhancements’ for Prisoners
California has reportedly spent $4 million in taxpayer funds on so-called gender-affirming cosmetic “enhancements” for prisoners, including four inmates on death row, since 2017.
According to the Free Beacon, which obtained several financial records from the state, California taxpayers bankrolled 157 inmates’ “gender-affirming” surgeries and cosmetic procedures. Between 2017 and July 2023, 11 prisoners racked up $180,000 in medical bills after receiving “gender-affirming” breast implants. During the same time period, California spent $2.5 million on vaginoplasties for 35 male inmates.
“The state corrections department says it has not placed any limits on the type of procedures trans-identifying prisoners can request and, as of early this summer, had received nearly 1,000 petitions for ‘gender-affirming’ surgeries, agency records show.”
Free Beacon
Two male prisoners received facial feminization surgeries for $184,141. Sixty-nine males have gotten laser hair removal for a total of $224,000. Forty female prisoners have had their breasts removed for a total of more than $1 million.
Four inmates on death row received sex-reassignment procedures funded by taxpayers in the state, and official records disclosures obtained by the Free Beacon, explained that transgender surgical requests are granted to prisoners on a “case-by-case” basis.
California became the first state to offer inmates sex change procedures in 2016 as a result of a legal settlement between a convicted male murderer who identified as a transgender female and the state. Then, in 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring prisons to ask inmates “gender-specific questions” to determine whether they should be housed in a male or female prison — regardless of their biological sex.
In 2022, inmate requests to undergo “gender-affirming” treatments more than doubled, CalMatters reported earlier this year, creating a “backlog” of prisoners seeking procedures and hormone therapy. According to Human Impact, “1,628 people incarcerated in any prison in California identify as transgender, gender variant, or intersex (TGI)” and since 2021, California has allowed at least 47 male inmates identifying as “transgender” to transfer to female prisons.
