Policy

Chelsea Manning's Lawyer Says She's Doing Well in Prison

Plans to meet with her and Fort Leavenworth leadership to discuss hormone therapy

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A lawyer for Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning said in a blog post on Thursday the soldier is doing well as she goes through processing at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth.

David Coombs wrote that he spoke on Wednesday with Manning, previously known as Bradley Manning, while she goes through the three-to-four-week period known as indoctrination at the Kansas prison. Coombs, who lives in Rhode Island, also said he plans to travel there in the coming weeks to meet with medical staff and the leadership in the quest to allow Manning to receive hormone therapy and other treatment for her gender dysphoria — the sense of being a woman trapped in a man's body.

Coombs went on the "Today" show last week, a day after Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for giving government secrets to WikiLeaks, to announce that Manning wants to live as a woman named Chelsea and begin hormone treatment as soon as possible.