Bradley Manning: 'I am a female'
Bradley Manning Plans To Live As A Woman Named Chelsea
BY DAVID DISHNEAU AND PAULINE JELINEK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT MEADE, Md. â Bradley Manning plans to live as a woman named Chelsea and wants to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible, the soldier said Thursday, a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified material to WikiLeaks.
Manning announced the decision in a written statement provided to NBC's "Today" show, asking supporters to refer to her by her new name and the feminine pronoun. The statement was signed "Chelsea E. Manning."
"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," the statement read.
Manning's defense attorney David Coombs told "Today" in an interview that he is hoping officials at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., will accommodate Manning's request for hormone therapy.
"If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to do so," Coombs said.
Coombs did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press on Thursday.