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What do Chelsea Manning treatments mean for transgender …

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Washington Chelsea Manning, a United States Army soldier serving a 35-year sentence for her role in providing classified documents to WikiLeaks, will now be able to receive hormone therapy at Fort Leavenworth.

It represents a considerable shift for the US military to provide this treatment for Ms. Manning, who identifies as transgender and sued the government to be able to have access to the hormone therapy in order to transition from a man, formerly known as Bradley, to a woman.

The decision speaks to changes that advocacy groups say they see at the Pentagon.

Though transgender troops are currently banned by the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said that he believes the policy should be reviewed. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James told USA Today that she believes the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted.

And Mara Kiesling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, says she has witnessed openness to thinking about the issue in new ways at lower levels.

We had a phone call here a few weeks ago from a commanding officer, saying, 'We have our first openly trans person in our unit, and we want to do right by them, and we dont understand everything, so help us,' she says. Its a fairly common employer call.

A report written by former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and sponsored by an advocacy group estimated that there are some 15,000 transgender troops currently serving.

The decision involving Manning does, however, point to inconsistencies in Pentagon policy. While the Pentagon does not pay for hormone therapy for troops, the Department of Veterans Affairs does cover costs for veterans who qualify, though it will not pay for sexual reassignment surgery.

So if youre in the service and youre a prisoner, you can qualify for this health care. But if youre not a prisoner and youre in the service, and your doctor says you need this, you can get thrown out of the military, Ms. Keisling notes.

Since arriving to begin serving her prison term at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Manning's "top priority" has been advocating for her medically necessary health care, says Chase Strangio, Mannings attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

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Chelsea Manning’s Hormone Treatment OK’d, but Not Long …

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The Army has approved gender-reassignment hormone therapy for Chelsea Manning, the former intelligence analyst convicted of espionage for sending classified documents to the WikiLeaks website, but says she can't grow out her hair.

The decision on hormone therapy marks the first time the Defense Department has authorized such treatment for an active service member.

But Manning will not yet be allowed to grow her hair to a female grooming standard, according to the Feb. 5 memo from Col. Erica Nelson, commandant of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence.

The Associated Press obtained the memo Friday. It was first reported Thursday by USA Today.

The treatment would help the Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning to make the transition to a woman. Manning changed her legal name in April 2014.

The decision follows a lawsuit filed in September in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleged Manning was at a high risk of self-castration and suicide unless she received more focused treatment for gender dysphoria, the sense of being a woman in a man's body.

Nelson wrote that she approved the treatment after carefully considering a recommendation that it was medically appropriate and necessary and after "weighing all associated safety and security risks."

Manning's hairstyle will be revisited seven months after the hormone treatment begins, according to the memo. It didn't say when the treatment would start. An immediate change in hair length "is not supported by the risk assessment and potential risk mitigation measures at this time," Nelson wrote.

The American Civil Liberties Union has not withdrawn its lawsuit alleging that the Army was providing some treatment but not enough, including psychotherapy from a mental health specialist who lacked the qualifications to treat gender dysphoria. The Federal Bureau of Prisons and many state and local corrections agencies administer hormone therapy to prisoners with gender dysphoria, but Manning is the first transgender military prisoner to request such treatment.

Chase Strangio, an attorney with the ACLU and counsel for Manning in her lawsuit, called the decision an important first step in Manning's treatment regimen.

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Chelsea Manning's Hormone Treatment OK'd, but Not Long ...

Chelsea Manning one step closer to making transition to a …

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In this undated file photo provided by the U.S. Army, Pfc. Chelsea Manning poses for a photo wearing a wig and lipstick. AP Photo/U.S. Army, File

WASHINGTON -- Hormone treatment for gender reassignment has been approved for Chelsea Manning, the former intelligence analyst convicted of espionage for sending classified documents to the WikiLeaks website.

Defense Department officials said Thursday that the hormone therapy was approved Feb. 5 by Col. Erica Nelson, commandant of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence.

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Bradley Manning, the army private who leaked government secrets, made a surprising revelation by saying he wants to become a woman and be called ...

The treatment would enable the Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning to make the transition to a woman. Manning changed her legal name in April 2014.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The memo approving Manning's hormone treatment was first reported by USA Today.

Calls to military officials at Fort Leavenworth weren't immediately returned.

The decision came after a lawsuit was filed in September in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleged Manning was at a high risk of self-castration and suicide unless she received more focused treatment for gender dysphoria, the sense of being a woman in a man's body.

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Army OKs hormone therapy for WikiLeaks leaker

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Story highlights "This is an important first step in Chelsea's treatment regimen," her legal counsel says Manning, whose former first name was Bradley, had filed a lawsuit over the issue But she's still not allowed to grow her hair like other female prisoners, the ACLU says

The prisoner formerly known as Bradley Manning, and once held to be male, said in August 2013, the day after her court sentencing, that she is female. Just over a year later, it emerged that she had filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming she "has been denied access to medically necessary treatment" for her gender disorder.

The commandant of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas, where Manning is serving her sentence, issued a memo on February 5 authorizing the addition of hormone therapy to Manning's treatment, USA Today reported Thursday.

The memo cited a recommendation that the therapy was "medically appropriate and necessary."

The news was welcomed by Manning's legal counsel in the lawsuit.

"We are thrilled for Chelsea that the government has finally agreed to initiate hormone therapy as part of her treatment plan," said Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "This is an important first step in Chelsea's treatment regimen and one that is in line with the recommendations of all of her doctors and the basic requirements of the Eighth Amendment."

But Strangio said that the approval of the therapy was only a partial victory.

"The military continues to refuse to let Chelsea grow her hair like other female prisoners, a critical part of her treatment plan that has been recognized by her doctors," he said.

Also, the delay in getting the hormone treatment "came with a significant cost to Chelsea and her mental health," Strangio said.

At the time of her 2013 announcement that she planned to live as a woman, Manning asked for support and said she wanted to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible.

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Edward Snowden and Ron Paul Kick Off Libertarian Student …

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"You're going to make me blush," said Edward Snowden.

It was a little after 6 p.m., and the NSA whistleblower's face and shoulders were gazing out, billboard-sized, at hundreds of cheering young libertarians. Snowden was beamed in to talk to the largest-ever International Students for Liberty conference, newly relocated to Washington's largest hotel. Snowden, whose highest degree was a GED, was honored as an honorary alumnus of the eight-year old organization. For 15 minutes he restated a case against the surveillance state that had no rebuttal in the room.

"As they take the private records of all our lives, and they aggregate a dossier, how can that be said to be constitutional?" asked Snowden. "Why have we funding and instituting this system of mass surveillance of people in our country and people around the world if theres no track record that shows it works?"

https://twitter.com/0emilylyly/status/566385741350313984

As he honed in on his argument, Snowden tailored it to young libertarians -- most of them college students. "I think many of the people in this room take a more pro-liberty pro-rights perspective than others in the U.S. political agreement," said Snowden. "Theres an argument to be made that perfect enforcement of the law is not a good thing. In fact, its a very serious threat... law is a lot like medicine.When you have too much it can be fatal."

Alexander McCobin, the president of the Students for Liberty, posed a few friendly questions. First, did Snowden regret anything?

"Im concerned that wed be in a better place if Id come forward sooner," said Snowden. He described a conversation he'd had with Daniel Ellsberg, and how both of them came to regret how long it took them to produce their leaks. "He like myself couldnt get over the psychological burden of fear of lawbreaking," said Snowden.

In a small moment of irony, the Moscow-bound Snowden remembered how he'd talked to colleagues at the NSA, and found them quietly agreeing with his worries, but unready to expose the agency."We had more on Americans than we had on Russians, for example," he said. "Should we be focusing on ourselves more than we focus on our adversaries?"

After Snowden wrapped, a slightly smaller audience remained in chairs to hear former Texas Congressman Ron Paul chat with Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano and Reason.com editor Nick Gillespie.

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