The Pentagon is moving toward transferring Pvt. Chelsea Manning from a military prison to a civilian prison so the WikiLeaks leaker canreceivehormone treatment after beingdiagnosed by military doctors withgender dysphoria, a marked incongruence between ones experienced\/expressed gender and assigned gender. <\/p>\n
Formerly known as Bradley Manning, the privatewas court-martialed last year and sentenced to 35 years for forwarding a cache of classified documents toWikiLeaks. <\/p>\n
After anAugust 2013 espionage conviction for leaking more than 700,000 documents and video, Manningannounced that shewould live as a woman with the name Chelsea going forward. A non-military judge approved the name change last month.Hormone therapy, which she has requested, will assist her in her transition. Currently, that therapy is not an option in military prisons. <\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the Associated Press reported, has approved the Army developing a plan to move Manning to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where gender treatment is offered. Defense officials told the AP that the Army will soon meet with the Justice Department to discuss the situation before making any final decisions. <\/p>\n
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