S.C. Lawmakers Try to Nix Inmate Sex Changes

Feb. 16, 2012— -- South Carolina lawmakers are debating a bill today that would end taxpayer-funded sexual reassignment surgery for inmates, a procedure that is covered by state law.

Although the state has never paid for a sex-change operation, and has only one self-identified transgender inmate among 23,000 prisoners, it could be responsible for footing a surgery bill if asked, according to state Sen. Kevin Bryant.

"Our inmates are among the least funded in the country," said Bryant, who wrote and introduced the bill. "There's not a willingness to fund our Corrections [Department], so as scarce as our dollars are, if we do have to fund this, it could break the bank."

Bryant argues that the state can't afford to pay for the expensive sexual reassignment surgeries that he says could open the door for other procedures such as plastic surgery.

But advocacy groups for the transgender community call the proposed law unconstitutional, arguing that the surgeries should be covered like any other medical requirement.

"If an inmate entered [prison] and was diagnosed with a medical issue, we would not deny them health care, prescriptive health care, medication or surgery," said Christine Johnson, executive director of South Carolina Equality, an LGBT-rights organization. "We're really looking at identifying one demographic of people, only one inmate identified in entire state, and giving them less than equal care. That would be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment."

Johnson said any legal challenges posed to the law would end up costing the state more in litigation costs than it would save by not paying for the surgeries.

"So they will save $15,000 to $20,000 [on the surgery], but they are willing to spend hundreds of thousands defending a constitutional challenge that on the outset, they know is unconstitutional," she said.

In other states, including Massachusetts, Idaho and Wisconsin, prisoners have sued state governments when they refused to pay for gender-reassignment surgeries. A federal court in Wisconsin ruled that the state was responsible for paying for the surgeries.

"We have activist judges who can strike down anything they want to," Sen. Bryant said.

The bill was passed by a Senate subcommittee today, and must go to the full Corrections committee before moving onto the Senate floor.

Bryant noted that the American Civil Liberties Union had sent a letter of "blistering" criticism to the committee reviewing the bill, and said he did not know whether the ACLU would take legal action to strike down the law.

The ACLU did not comment on any legal action it might take but provided a written statement to ABC News in response to the proposed legislation.

"This discriminatory law singles out transgender people by denying them the care they need," said John Knight, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "Health professionals should be the ones to make medical decisions for inmates, not the state legislature."