The U.S.
Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a transgender
prison inmate in Idaho to go ahead with sex reassignment surgery, rejecting the state's bid to put it on hold.
The decision by the justices means that the surgery for the inmate, Adree Edmo, which is scheduled for July, will remain on the calendar while they consider whether to hear the state of Idaho's appeal in the case.
The brief court order noted that two of the nine justices, conservatives Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, would have granted the state's request that the surgery be put on hold.