Chelsea Manning was hospitalized Tuesday after what was being reported as a suicide attempt by the transgender U.S. Army soldier serving time for leaking classified government documents, reported
CNN.
The incident came a week after her public comments about the military lifting its ban on transgender personnel, noted the
Washington Post.
Manning, the former Bradley Manning, 28, was being held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she is serving a 35-year sentence for violating the Espionage Act.
According to U.S. Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber, Manning was taken to a hospital "during the early hours of July 5" and that officials "continue to monitor the inmate's condition," CNN reported.
TMZ reported that Manning, who has been transitioning from male to female while in the military prison, was sent to a prison hospital.
"We do not know specifically what Manning did in her cell, but one source tells TMZ she tried to hang herself."
Manning's attorney, Nancy Hollander, said in a statement that she was "shocked and outraged" that a military official would give "confidential medical information" about Manning to journalists but not her legal team, reported the
Post.
"Despite the fact that they have reached out to the media, and that any other prison will connect an emergency call, the Army has told her lawyers that the earliest time that they will accommodate a call between her lawyers and Chelsea is Friday morning," said Hollander.
"We call on the Army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea’s current situation."
Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Unions who has worked on the Manning case, issued two tweets Wednesday about Manning's hospitalization.
Manning has written opinion articles for The Guardian about the right to receive hormone treatments while transitioning in prison, said the Post.
Cosmopolitan said the military had approved some treatment for gender dysphoria, the medical term for people who identify with a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth.
In an article published last week, Manning said the U.S. military's recent decision to repeal its transgender ban fell short but was a step forward in protecting transgender people who are serving, said the Post.
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