Federal appeals court reinstates prisoner’s sex-change lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Monday reinstated a lawsuit brought by a transgendered prisoner against Virginia authorities for refusing to allow her to undergo a sex-change operation. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Ophelia Azriel De’lonta, born Michael Stokes, can argue that denying her the surgery violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. …