Chelsea Manning to receive gender treatment
September 14, 2016
Chelsea Manning ended her five-day hunger strike at a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after the military announced it would treat her condition.
"I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing. I applaud them for that. This is all that I wanted - for them to let me be me," Manning said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU sued the Pentagon in 2014 over its refusal to provide medical treatment.
Originally named Bradley, Manning was convicted in 2013 for leaking classified US military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks.
In July, she tried to commit suicide at the all-male prison where she is being held.
She will still be required to maintain male grooming standards, including short hair.
The US military announced in July it would allow transgender people to serve in the military and would pay for surgery related to the condition when "medically necessary."
cw/kl (AFP, AP)