US Army Private Chelsea Manning, who was previously known as Bradley Manning, decided to announce that she wanted to live as a woman the day after sentencing because a military prison said publicly it would not provide hormone treatment, her attorney said.
David Coombs said on Monday that Manning had known for a long time she would make such a statement, but “she wanted, essentially, for the media surrounding the trial to dissipate.”
Manning did not want people to think the statement was insincere.
“People might think it was an effort to get further attention,” Coombs said.
Coombs said he and Manning knew the army might not provide hormone treatment, but they were hoping the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, would allow it since Manning had been diagnosed with gender-identity disorder by an army psychiatrist who testified at her trial.
It was not until they read a Courthouse News Service story that Manning decided to make the announcement.
The story quoted prison spokeswoman Kimberly Lewis saying the prison would not provide hormone therapy. It was published on Tuesday last week, the day before Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking mountains of classified material the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks.
“It was Chelsea’s intent to do this all along,” Coombs said. “It was only after Fort Leavenworth had said that they would not provide any sort of medical treatment that we decided not to wait.”
Coombs said he hoped the military prison “will simply do the right thing” so Manning will not have to sue in military or civilian court.
Coombs said at this point Manning does not want sex-reassignment surgery and expects to be kept with men in prison. The Fort Leavenworth prison is all-male.
Coombs said he had seen people objecting online to taxpayer-funded hormone therapy and said Manning will pay for it.
Hormone therapy can help Manning, Coombs said.
“It’s just to be comfortable in her own skin,” Coombs said.
He described it as similar to ensuring someone with high blood pressure gets medication.
Coombs also said the Bradley Manning Support Network is changing its name to the Private Manning Support Network.
The group has raised more than US$1 million and is paying Manning’s legal expenses.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was