Trans-Identifying Veterans Sue Department of Veterans Affairs, Demand Taxpayer-Funded Sex-Change Procedures
A group of transgender-identifying veterans filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) demanding that taxpayer-funded medical coverage extend to sex-change procedures.
The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) filed a lawsuit against the VA, seeking a court order that would force the VA to act on the organization’s 2016 rule-making petition “for gender-confirmation surgery.”
“Nearly eight years since TAVA submitted its rulemaking petition asking the VA to provide this essential and lifesaving medical care, and more than two years since Secretary McDonough pledged to make this care available, the VA has failed to act,” TAVA said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. The organization additionally claimed that the VA’s lack of “gender-affirming” care for veterans “endangers the health and well-being” of the 163,000 veterans associated with TAVA.
The press release claims that so-called gender-affirming care is not only “essential and lifesaving” but also “dramatically reduces the risks of suicidal ideation, depression, and psychological distress for transgender people.” Recent research into the modern medical treatments falling under the umbrella of “gender-affirming” care; however, does not suggest that the style of care is effective in reducing negative emotional experiences or mental health concerns.
“Three years ago [January 25, 2021], President Biden repealed the military’s ban on transgender service members,” Rebekka Eshler, President of TAVA, said in a statement. “Yet when we return from service, we do not receive the same level of healthcare from the VA that other veterans do. The natural next step toward transgender people’s true inclusion in the military is for the VA to remedy this gap. Transgender veterans have waited far too long for the VA to provide the gender-affirming surgery so many of us need to survive.”
Currently, TRICARE, the medical insurance offered to active-duty service members, covers certain “gender-affirming” treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, psychological counseling, and when deemed “medically necessary,” surgical procedures. TRICARE is free for military members and is funded by the taxpayer, as are the services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
