Bradley Manning, who now identifies as Chelsea Manning, publicly announced his desire for hormone treatment for gender reassignment the day after his sentencing because the military prison refused to offer the treatment, his attorney, David Coombs revealed to the Associated Press on Aug. 26.

People have perceived Manning's move as a cry for public attention, and Coombs chose to come out with the facts to dispute these claims. Coombs disclosed that Manning had wished to make a statement about his sexual identity since a long time but was holding off on doing so because of the media hype that surrounded the case. "She wanted, essentially, for the media surrounding the trial to dissipate," Coombs said.

Military prisons do not allow for hormone treatment, Manning would have to be transferred to a civil prison for that. But the nature of his crime deems that he be held in a military prison. The 25-year-old former United States Army soldier had been sentenced to 35 years in prison on Aug. 21 for leaking restricted government documents to WikiLeaks. He is currently being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. which has turned down his plea for hormone treatment.

"It was Chelsea's intent to do this all along," Coombs said. "It was only after Fort Leavenworth had said that they would not provide any sort of medical treatment that we decided not to wait."

Coombs suggested that if the state does not agree to pay for Manning's hormone-therapy, he would pay for it himself.

Coombs also stated on his blog on Aug. 26 that Manning had now chosen Elizabeth as his middle name, replacing Edward.

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