FRANKFORT, Ky. —

A federal judge has blocked a Kentucky inmate's request to halt the enforcement of a state law banning the use of public funds for hormone replacement therapy in prisons.

The case was brought by Maddilyn Marcum, an incarcerated individual who has been receiving HRT since 2016 for treatment related to gender dysphoria.

The American Psychiatric Association defines gender dysphoria as "a psychiatric diagnosis that refers to the psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity."

In the case, Marcum argued that a Kentucky statute, KRS § 197.280 , violates constitutional protections by cutting off medically necessary treatment.

The law, which was passed earlier this year, prohibits taxpayer money fr

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