Republican Sen. Mike Wilson offered a straightforward explanation of his more limited bill in committee Thursday.
"The bill just basically states that if you're incarcerated, you're not entitled to have cross-sex hormones or sex change operations to change your sex from one to another," he said.
While the state says no inmates received gender reassignment surgeries, the Bowling Green lawmaker argued it was attempting to keep the policy on the books through a memo, and expressed distrust in the state's assurances.
Chris Hartman with the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign questioned the need for a bill affecting just dozens of Kentuckians.
"I want to remind you we're talking about .35% of the incarcerated population in Kentucky," he said. "This is a politically motivated attack against one of our smallest and most vulnerable communities, and you cannot tell me that this is one of the most pressing issues for the vast majority of Kentuckians."
According to the Corrections Department, 67 inmates are currently receiving cross-sex hormones. The bill would allow for their temporary continuation only if it's necessary to slowly wean inmates off the drugs.
While Wilson's bill cleared committee and moved to the full Senate, a more wide-ranging measure — HB 5 — has been filed. In addition to barring the hormone and surgical treatments, it would also mandate that state prisons designate bathrooms, sleeping quarters, and other multi-occupancy areas on the basis of biological sex.
