Kentucky Governor Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Transgender Surgeries for Inmates

Kentucky incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear delivers his victory speech to a crowd at an election night event at Old Forrester's Paristown Hall in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 7, 2023. Stephen Cohen/Getty Images

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Thursday that he opposes the notion of using state funds to cover transgender surgeries for state inmates.

Beshear’s comments were made after the Kentucky Department of Corrections proposed new protocols for accommodating transgender inmates, which include giving access to mental health treatment and using their preferred pronouns.

The proposed rules also stated that transgender inmates may be given access to surgical procedures if it is determined that “all possible avenues” to alleviate gender dysphoria have been attempted.

During a press conference on Dec. 12, Beshear rejected the rules allowing transgender surgeries, saying that such measures would lead to inmates having better coverage than that offered to “law abiding citizens.”

“I recognize that LGBTQ inmates may be at a higher risk for violence than other inmates,” the Democratic governor told reporters.

“However, convicted felons do not have the right to have any and all medical surgeries paid for entirely by tax dollars, especially when it would exceed the type of coverage available to law abiding citizens in the private sector,” he said. “So I do not support all of that draft regulation.”

Beshear said the Department of Corrections has sent a request for an opinion to Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman with regard to the proposed protocols.

“The Department of Corrections is just trying to get this right under federal law, and it appears at least a little unclear to me of what’s required under federal law,” he stated.

Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews said during a Monday meeting that the department sent the request to Coleman to seek clarity on whether gender reassignment surgeries for transgender inmates could be allowed when deemed medically necessary.

State legislators questioned why the department sent the opinion request on Dec. 6 despite the proposed policy being filed in May, but Crews did not provide an answer.

Andy Westberry, communications director for the Kentucky Republican Party, said the Beshear administration’s efforts to seek legal guidance came at the last minute, despite Republican legislators having provided “plenty of notice” raising concerns about the regulation.

“The Beshear Administration’s attempt to hide behind a last-minute legal process was nothing more than a bad-faith effort to avoid addressing a deeply unpopular and politically toxic issue,” Westberry said in a statement on Dec. 11.