Transgendered Army veteran and ordained Baptist minister Allyson Robinson went on MSNBC’s “Ronan Farrow Daily” to claim that not only does convicted felon Bradley Chelsea Manning deserve to have taxpayers pay for his continued hormone therapy, all prisoners have a constitutional right to the same. (RELATED: What Makes Bradley Manning A Woman?)
FARROW: There are some saying, this is a convicted criminal, someone who betrayed the country. This isn’t someone who should be getting taxpayer-approved hormone treatment. What’s your response?
ROBINSON: “Well, as someone Ronan, who swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, I recognize the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment of people who are in government custody. And I recognize that courts have decided long ago that withholding medically necessary care from prisoners is cruel and unusual punishment. So this is — this is not a privilege. It is not a reward of any kind for Manning or any other prisoner. It’s a constitutional right.