Father who raped own child will get taxpayer-funded gender transition surgery

A judge has ordered a Wisconsin man sentenced to 34 years in prison for sexually assaulting his 10-year-old daughter has a constitutional right to gender reassignment surgery paid for by taxpayers.

Mark Allen Campbell, 49, who identifies as transgender and now goes by the name Nicole Rose Campbell, has been allowed to dress in women’s clothing and wear make-up at the Racine Correctional institute, a men’s prison where Campbell has been housed. Since being incarcerated, Campbell has also been provided with taxpayer-funded hormone replacement therapy and counseling, according to The Post Millennial.

Court documents from 2010 show Campbell was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child, incest, exposing a child to harmful material, and causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity. Campbell pled guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a child. According to records, Campbell’s daughter told authorities that her father, “[Had] sex with her, masturbated in front of her, used various sex toys with her, and exposed her to DVD and video porn movies and magazines.”

Since 2013 Campbell has requested gender reassignment surgery but has been denied. In 2106 the inmate filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of Eight Amendment rights by the Department of Corrections, alleging the Department was “indifferent” to Campbell’s “medical needs” and that Campbell was forced to suffer cruel and unusual punishment as a result of being refused the drastic body modification surgery.

Chad Felix Greene of the Post Millennial reports, “[In 2016] Since the DOC had provided Campbell with hormone therapy, Judge Diane Sykes argued there was no way for them to anticipate the medical care being insufficient in resolving the inmate’s distress, certainly not to the degree of violating Campbell’s Constitutional rights.

“The dissenting judge, Diane Wood insisted that the DOC was deliberately indifferent to Campbell’s condition which could lead to self-castration, if in Campbell’s dismay at not having surgery provided Campbell would undertake to remove her penis with her own hand. Campbell’s lawyer agreed, stating that while the DOC medical director was respectful towards Campbell in allowing her to live as a woman, they refused to change their policy to accommodate her request.”

This month, however, US District Judge James Peterson decided Campbell has a Constitutional right to the surgery. In the ruling opinion, Peterson wrote, “And some members of the public are outraged at any effort to improve the health and well being of inmates…But the true public interest lies in alleviating needless suffering by those who are dependent on the government for their care.”

“To be clear: an inmate’s criminal history is irrelevant to whether she has a right to necessary medical treatment,” he argued. “Campbell continues to suffer from gender dysphoria, which causes her anguish and puts her at risk of self-harm or suicide.”

The judge also ruled that Campbell should be allowed to move to a women’s prison as it would provide Campbell with the “real-life experience” of living as a woman prior to the surgery.

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Campbell’s lawyer argued, “[Campbell] has done everything she can within the confines of the male prison…She assumes, and probably correctly, her life will be easier there, because she will be with other women,”

Campbell has requested taxpayers fork the bill over for breast augmentation, voice therapy, and electrolysis. According to the Post Millennial, inmates at the women’s prison were not consulted about the empenised individual joining their accommodations.

Greene reports:

“LGBTQ Nation’s Facebook post, with 1,500 likes, provided a mixture of responses from LGBT readers. While most agreed that the decision to focus on Campbell’s emotional anguish to justify cosmetic surgery was absurd and even offensive to the transgender community, many others fervently defended the decision. One user argued, ‘I think predators should have the death penalty, but until then it’s still discrimination to deny an inmate life saving surgery, regardless of the crime criminals still have rights.’

“Another demanded, ‘Gender affirmation is not a reward or a privilege, it is a human right. Yes this person is a child molester, no that doesn’t mean you get to deny her her basic rights.’ One person reasoned, ‘Don’t think about this specific individual’s rights. Think about our values as Americans. Every person in this country deserves healthcare despite their status in society.’ Still others dissented arguing, ‘They don’t deserve to have this surgery. Plenty of more deserving trans women who aren’t in prison have to pay out of pocket, so why should this person get special privilege?'”