After years of court battles, Adree Edmo, the first transgender inmate in the country to get sex reassignment surgery through a court order, has been transferred to a women’s prison in Pocatello.
Edmo originally sued the state of Idaho in 2017, saying prison officials had violated her civil rights by refusing to allow her to get sex reassignment surgery to treat her gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is a condition that can cause extreme stress when a person’s sex assigned at birth doesn’t match their gender identity.
You can follow Adree Edmo's story from the beginning through our award-winning, investigative podcast LOCKED
In addition to seeking damages, her legal team eventually pushed the federal court system to get the surgery. A district court judge in Idaho and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals both sided with Edmo.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt Edmo’s surgery pending the appeal and she underwent the surgery last month.
After spending time in Orofino to recuperate, a state prisons spokesman confirmed she had been transferred to a women’s prison in Pocatello.
Edmo was originally convicted of sexual abuse of a child under 16. She’ll be released from prison next July.
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