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The state’s prison officials defiantly insist that it’s legal and safe to force vulnerable women inmates to share a cell with a man who claimed to be a woman after he was convicted of stabbing his parents and the family dog to death.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has withdrawn $1.5 million in federal funding from Maine’s prison system due to the state’s policy of housing men who claim to be women in women’s prisons.
Balcer, now 26, was convicted in 2018 for the 2016 murders of her parents and the family dog. At the time of the crime, he was 17 years old. Balcer reported that he “snapped” and later expressed concerns that his parents would not accept him as a transgender identifying as a woman, which he claimed contributed to his actions.
Based on archived data, Balcer was recorded as male on the MDOC website as recently as September 2022. More recent updates to the records now list Balcer as female, reflecting a change in name to Andrea and showing a new photo featuring long black hair styled in a side ponytail.
A policy introduced in 2020 by MDOC Commissioner Randell Liberty mandates that correctional institutions in Maine offer clothing and items consistent with an inmate’s self-identified gender, including items such as push-up bras and chest binders, as reported by The Maine Wire. After being diagnosed with gender dysphoria and following a review by medical and correctional staff, Balcer was transferred to the Maine Correctional Center in Windham in 2021, a facility for women.
Attorney General Bondi emphasized the administration’s stance against housing transgender women in women’s prisons, explaining,
“We pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine because they were allowing a man in a women’s prison.
A giant, 6-foot-1, 245-pound guy, who committed a double murder with a knife, stabbed his parents to death and the family dog, and he identified as a woman, so they were letting him be housed in a female prison.
No longer. We will pull your funding. We will protect women in prison.”
This action aligns with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The order mandates that federal agencies recognize gender based solely on biological sex and withdraws federal recognition for transgender individuals. It also directs the cessation of funding for gender-affirming care and prohibits transgender individuals from using single-sex federally funded facilities that align with their gender identity.
The withdrawal of federal funds from Maine’s prison system is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to block federal funding policies regarding transgender individuals. In February, the president signed an executive order aimed at banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, prompting policy changes at the national level, including adjustments by the NCAA.
The administration has also initiated investigations into Maine schools for continuing to allow male athletes in women’s sports in violation of Title IX. This federal law, passed by Congress in 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funding.
According to MDOC, the specific programs affected by the $1.5 million funding cut in Maine’s prison system include initiatives aimed at supporting family engagement between incarcerated parents and their children, improving supervision of individuals in prison and on parole, and providing substance use disorder treatment for inmates.
The number of males housed in female correctional facilities are growing in number, as are the reports of assaults and harassment. In February 2024, a female inmate at Rikers Island filed a lawsuit against New York City, claiming that she was raped after being forced to stay in a cell with a male prisoner who claimed to be a woman. When she reported the crime, she was denied immediate medical care and later punished.
In 2020, Janiah Monroe, an Illinois man identifying as a female, was transferred to a women’s correctional facility, Logan Correctional Center, where he reportedly sexually assaulted a female inmate.
As of 2024, at least 11 males identifying as female were transferred to a women’s prison in Washington State. Several of these individuals had previously committed violent offenses against women and children before being placed in the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW).
The recent executive order is being challenged and thwarted in court. At least two transgender inmates in Washington who were moved from a women’s prison to an all-male facility after Trump’s executive order have returned after a judge issued a preliminary injunction in the ongoing legal battle.
“This is the latest example of an activist judge attempting to seize power at the expense of the American people who overwhelmingly voted to elect President Trump,” a DOJ spokesperson said. “The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Defending Women Executive Order, and will continue to do so.”
At least 15 male prisoners identifying as female are now protected by orders blocking or reversing the transfers.
The decision by Maine and other states to allow male inmates who identify as female into women’s prisons is deeply troubling and a clear example that common sense flees in the face of political correctness.
Women in these facilities are vulnerable and many have suffered sexual abuse in the past. Subjecting them to the presence of biologically male inmates — some with violent histories against women — is not compassion but cruelty.
The female inmates in these prisons have no voice and no choice, and all Americans — including district court judges — should advocate for their dignity and safety.
Bondi’s defense of women in prison and the Trump administration’s policies of upholding biological sex in single-sex spaces should not be viewed as acts of discrimination but as necessary measures to preserve truth and protect women. Compassion for those who truly suffer with gender dysphoria is essential, but compassion should not come at the expense of women’s safety and it should not be so naïve as to enable men with a record and predilection for committing violent and sexual offenses against women and girls to game the system.
Ultimately, this issue reflects a culture that has strayed increasingly far from God’s truth. Followers of Christ are called to protect the vulnerable and uphold justice. Proverbs 31:8-9 commands us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves… defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
The Christian worldview leads us to respond with courage and clarity by boldly defending women, speaking the truth about God’s design for the sexes and biological reality, and promoting policies rooted in righteousness. Christians must pray, speak out, and support policies that restore sanity and safeguard women — both inside and outside prison walls.
PHOTO: The hands of a woman trapped in prison. CREDIT: Stock photo from Vecteezy.com
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