Georgia Gov. Kemp signed SB185, barring state-funded gender dysphoria treatment for transgender people in state prisons
On May 8, 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 185 into law, barring the use of state funds or resources to provide gender dysphoria treatment - including hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery - to people in Georgia state custody. The law singled out incarcerated transgender people for the denial of medically recognized care that many had already been receiving.
Actors
On May 8, 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 185 into law, prohibiting the use of state funds, property, or resources to provide gender dysphoria treatment - including hormone therapy, hair-removal treatment, and gender-affirming surgery - to any person in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections. The measure singled out incarcerated transgender people for the denial of care recognized as medically necessary by major medical associations, and it cut off hormone therapy that people held in Georgia prisons had already been receiving.
The bill passed the General Assembly during the 2025 regular session and applied to anyone in state custody. The Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents affected prisoners, described the statute as forcing the discontinuation of established treatment without regard to individual medical need.
Updates
2025-08-08 - Incarcerated transgender people filed a class-action challenge [3]
Transgender people held in Georgia prisons filed a class action, Benjamin v. Oliver, in federal court, seeking to restore hormone therapy and to block enforcement of SB185.
2025-12-03 - A federal judge struck down SB185; Georgia appealed [4, 5]
After an earlier order blocking enforcement, a federal court permanently enjoined SB185 as unconstitutional. Georgia officials filed an appeal on December 8, 2025.
Why we recorded this
Equal protection and a government's duty of care to those it incarcerates are basic civic guarantees: the state may not single out one class of people for the denial of medically recognized treatment. Georgia enacted a law forbidding the use of state funds or resources to provide gender dysphoria care to transgender people in its prisons, cutting off treatment many were already receiving. This archive records when a government uses its control over incarcerated people to withhold established medical care from a targeted group.
Sources
- Georgia SB185 (2025) bill record — LegiScan primary accessed July 11, 2026
- FAQ Regarding SB185 and Georgia's Ban on Gender Dysphoria Treatment in State Prisons — Center for Constitutional Rights secondary accessed July 11, 2026
- Trans People in Georgia Prisons File Class Action Lawsuit Challenging Ban on Essential Medical Care — Center for Constitutional Rights primary accessed July 11, 2026
- Victory for Trans Rights: Federal Judge Strikes Down Georgia Law Banning Gender Dysphoria Treatment in Prison — Center for Constitutional Rights primary accessed July 11, 2026
- Georgia officials appeal ruling that blocked ban on gender-affirming care in state prisons — Georgia Recorder secondary accessed July 11, 2026
See also
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Riley Gaines Act, barring transgender athletes and ending gender-identity recognition in sex-segregated spaces
- Georgia Gov. Kemp signed HB 1084, authorizing K-12 ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports
- Georgia Gov. Kemp signed SB 140 banning gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy for minors
- Federal Bureau of Prisons issued a memo directing transfer of transgender inmates to facilities matching birth sex and cutting affirming care
- Kentucky enacted SB2 barring hormone therapy and gender-reassignment surgery for transgender state inmates
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