A new bill was proposed Wednesday in the Wisconsin State Legislature that would make it illegal for state prison inmates to receive state funding for gender reassignment treatments, including hormone therapy and surgery.

The bill, proposed by state Reps. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin; Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford; and state Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, would change the current Department of Correction policy allowing certain inmates with gender identity disorder to receive hormone treatments at the state’s expense.

The bill has been proposed in response to a federal court case filed by a Wisconsin inmate who has developed female characteristics as a result of the state-funded hormonal treatments. Donna Kronitzer, born Scott Kronitzer, is suing the state for not completing the sexual reassignment process and funding an operation to give her female genitals.

In addition to Kronitzer, there are several other Wisconsin inmates who are receiving hormone-therapy treatments, according to Suder.

“We don’t think that it is an appropriate use of public funds, to spend it on sex-change operations for inmates,” Kanavas said. “The notion that state taxpayers should be paying for this guy’s treatment is completely outrageous.”

Individuals with gender identity disorder wish to live as the opposite gender as a result of a chronic discomfort with the gender of their birth, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

This relatively rare condition can lead to genital mutilation, severe depression and suicide. One in 30,000 individuals born male and one in 100,000 individuals born female are affected by the disorder, according to the manual.

The hormone treatments, which can cost between $760 and $1,600 per year, cause male individuals to develop more female features, such as breasts, and reduces the amount of facial and chest hair, according to Bill Clausius, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. Genital reassignment surgery generally follows the hormonal treatment and can cost between $10,000 and $20,000.

“I don’t know of a single private health-care plan that would cover this type of procedure, and we certainly can’t expect taxpayers to pay for it for people who have committed crimes,” Suder said. The bill is supported by a decision by the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stating that prisoners do not have a right to expensive medical procedures, according to Suder.

There are some, however, that feel the bill will infringe on the rights of prisoners with gender identity disorder.

“It’s atrocious,” said University of Wisconsin senior Kate Kullberg, who will graduate with a minor in LGBT studies. “What is so horrible about helping someone be the person they were meant to be?”

“Prison funding is already going toward things like weight-lifting facilities, computers and cable TV. It seems to me that a person with a gender-identity crisis should be able to have their treatments funded,” said Kullberg.