BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts has filed an appeal of a federal judge's decision that orders the state prisons department to pay for a convicted murderer's sex reassignment surgery.
The Boston Globe reports that in papers filed Tuesday, lawyers for the state Department of Correction's commissioner asked for a stay of the order granting a sex change of Michelle Kosilek, until a federal appeals court can rule.
The state said that it believes the medical care the 63-year-old Kosilek is receiving is adequate and that the court didn't address what it says are legitimate safety concerns of protecting her in prison.
U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled last month that the surgery is the only adequate treatment for Kosilek's gender-identity disorder.
Kosilek was named Robert when convicted of killing his wife, Cheryl, in 1990.
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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe
