RICHMOND, VIRGINIA — A transgender Virginia inmate has appealed the dismissal of her lawsuit asking the state to pay for her to have a sex change operation, saying a jury should decide if hormones and other therapies she receives are adequate.

U.S. District Judge James Turk tossed out Ophelia De’Lonta’s lawsuit in October, saying the state was adequately treating her gender identity disorder, a mental diagnosis in which people believe they were born the wrong sex. Turk said courts have ruled that inmates are guaranteed only minimum care, not preferred therapies.

De’Lonta, who was born a man, claims her disorder causes her to attempt castration and that the surgery is the only thing that will make her stop. In an appeal to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals filed last week, she cites established treatment guidelines that say the surgery is needed in severe cases.