Attorney: Manning not receiving hormone therapy

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/attorney-manning-not-receiving-hormone-therapy

Attorney: Manning not receiving hormone therapy
By Margaret Stafford
The Associated Press
© August 13, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Convicted national security leaker Chelsea Manning isn't receiving medical treatment for her gender identity condition as previously approved by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the American Civil Liberties Union and Manning's attorney said Tuesday.

The ACLU and Manning's civilian attorney, David E. Coombs, on Tuesday notified the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth and several defense department officials, including Hagel, that a lawsuit will be filed if military officials do not confirm by Sept. 4 that the treatment will be provided for Manning.

Manning is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth for sending classified documents to the WikiLeaks website. Manning, who changed her name from Bradley after her conviction, has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the sense of being a woman in a man's body.

Manning sought evaluation and treatment after she was sent to the Fort Leavenworth prison in September 2013. She is asking for hormone therapy and to be able to live as a woman. Military doctors confirmed the gender dysphoria diagnosis and recommended a treatment plan, but she has yet to receive any treatment, according to the ACLU.