Chelsea Manning approved for hormone therapy

Imprisoned national security information leaker Chelsea Manning has been approved for hormone therapy to become a woman, USA Today reported Thursday, citing a memo it had obtained.

“After carefully considering the recommendation that (hormone treatment) is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding (hormone treatment) to Inmate Manning’s treatment plan,” Col. Erica Nelson, who is in charge of Fort Leavenworth, wrote in a Feb. 5 memo, according to USA Today.

{mosads}The intelligence analyst formerly known as Bradley Manning is serving a 35-year sentence at the Kansas military prison for leaking classified national security documents to WikiLeaks, which posted troves of the documents online.

Manning announced a day after being convicted in August 2013 that she was a woman.

Last year Manning asked to be able to dress and live as a female and receive hormone therapy, as well as potentially surgery. Manning then filed a lawsuit in federal court to get accommodations for the transition.

USA Today noted that the military doesn’t allow transgender individuals to serve and the Pentagon has not provided for such treatment.