Two inmates at New Jersey’s only women’s prison have become pregnant after having sex with a transgender inmate.
The women entered into a “consensual sexual relationship with another inmate,” the state Department of Corrections told NJ.com.
They were being held at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Union Township, about 10 miles west of New York City.
Transgender inmate Demi Minor, 27, who is serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter, has been transferred to another youth prison.
Minor is believed to have been one of 27 transgender women at the Edna Mahan facility.
Last year, New Jersey enacted a policy allowing inmates to be housed according to their self-proclaimed sexual identity.
This came after he was sued by a transgender inmate held in a men’s prison. The case was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union.
As a result of the pregnancy, the New Jersey Department of Corrections said it is currently reviewing its transgender inmate housing policy with the intention of “implementing minor changes.”
A spokesperson said placement decisions “are made within the parameters of the settlement agreement, which requires consideration of gender identity and the individual’s health and safety.”
Minor used a blog to complain about the treatment of New Jersey authorities.
A strip-search appeal was denied by a female police officer while he was being held at a youth correctional facility.
“I was subsequently transferred to the New Jersey State Penitentiary, where the guards continued to call me he and him.
“I’ve had him and him call me over 30 times, I haven’t had that happen in years when I was mostly referred to as a man.
“When I arrived at Trenton State Prison, several guards searched me and placed me in the infirmary under constant observation.”
Minor added: “I don’t think the DOC realizes the psychological damage that moving me from a women’s prison to a men’s facility has done, it’s cruel and I don’t know what it’s like to live as a man and I refuse to ever go back to those kinds of habits or behavior.”
In January, the Biden administration reinstated guidelines that were rescinded by Donald Trump, requiring federal prisons to consider the safety of transgender inmates.
The move fulfilled a campaign promise in which Joe Biden promised to address the widespread violence faced by transgender inmates.
A 2020 NBC study found that only 15 of approximately 5,000 transgender inmates in state prisons were housed according to their self-reported sexual identity.
This makes them vulnerable to harassment, discrimination and sexual violence.
However, the policy only applies to federal prisons, which hold about 1,500 transgender inmates.
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