(The Christian Post) A federal jury in Wisconsin awarded two transgender state employees $780,000 on Wednesday after the state refused to provide health insurance coverage for sex-reassignment surgeries and hormone therapy. The damages were awarded to University of Wisconsin School of Medicine researcher Shannon Andrews and UW graduate student Alina Boyden, who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The plaintiffs sued in federal court and their legal team claimed that rules that exclude state health coverage for sex transition surgeries and therapies that doctors have deemed “medically necessary” violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Last month, U.S. District Judge William Conley agreed and ruled that the state must provide coverage for such procedures. READ MORE