U.S. judge suspends sex-change ruling

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BOSTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A judge who ordered public funds be used to pay for gender reassignment for a convicted Massachusetts killer has suspended the order while an appeal is heard.

U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Wolf also rejected a request by Michelle Kosilek that the state pay for electrolysis treatment, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Wolf suspended enforcement of his order while the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals hears an appeal brought by the administration of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the newspaper said.

Kosilek was convicted as Robert Kosilek for the 1990 strangulation of her 36-year-old wife, Cheryl Kosilek, and sentenced to life in prison.

Wolf acknowledged in his September ruling that Kosilek is "a man who truly believes that he is a female cruelly trapped in a male body" was "unpopular and misunderstood."

The judge said the matter of electrolysis treatment for Kosilek would have to be taken up as part of a new case, the Globe reported.

Kosilek has also asked the court to refer to her with female pronouns only, as she is living as a woman at the all-male MCI Norfolk state prison.