Chelsea Manning has begun a hunger strike to protest the poor treatment she’s been getting in custody. John Iadarola, host of ThinkTank, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. https://www.tytnetwork.com/join

“Less than a week after Chelsea Manning launched a hunger strike to protest abuse behind bars, the U.S. Army promised her gender dysphoria treatment. With that promise, Manning could become the first transgender prisoner to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
According to a statement issued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Tuesday, the military conceded to letting her have the surgery, which was prescribed by a psychologist in April.

Manning, the former soldier turned WikiLeaks whistleblower, received a 35-year prison sentence in 2013, the same year she came out as a trans woman. Nevertheless, she’s been locked up in men’s prison and denied care that’s considered “medically necessary and recommended,” said the ACLU, which filed a lawsuit on Manning’s behalf in 2014.

While Manning has access to hormone treatment, the military has done little else to accommodate her gender dysphoria, which is defined as “clinically significant distress” from identifying as a gender that differs from one’s biological sex. In addition to denying her surgery, she’s been forced to cut her hair to what’s considered an appropriate length for men, she wrote in a personal statement last Friday. Manning has also been bullied, “driven to suicide by the lack of care,” and punished ever since the attempt, she added.”

Read more here: https://thinkprogress.org/army-agrees…