Transgender inmates can now get gender reassignment surgery

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Podcasts Take Two

Oct 21, 2015

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Transgender inmates can now get gender reassignment surgery

California is the first state that has agreed to cover gender reassignment surgery. But determining how to do that and who qualifies hasn't been easy.

San Quentin State Prison in California.

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California is the first state that has agreed to cover gender reassignment surgery. But determining how to do that and who qualifies hasn't been easy.

California is the first state in the nation that's agreed to cover gender reassignment surgery for transgender inmates after a lawsuit by the Transgender Law Center.

But how to do that and determining who qualifies has not been an easy policy to develop. This week, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations put forth its guides.

Flor Bermudez, director of the Detention Project at the Transgender Law Center, joined Take Two for a reaction.