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The Department for Veterans Affairs announced on Monday that it will phase out all medical treatment in gender-affirming care for veterans.
In a news release, the VA said it would immediately stop offering such treatment to veterans who are not already receiving such care from the VA or the Department of Defense.
Newsweek has contacted the department for comment via email.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has targeted transgender and nonbinary people with executive orders since he returned to office in January.
On his first day back in office, Trump issued an order that said the government would recognize only two sexes: male and female.
Trump also signed an executive order setting out steps toward banning transgender people from serving in the military, which is being challenged in court. A Pentagon memo in late February orders military services to identify and separate transgender service members within 30 days.
What To Know
In the news release, the VA said it was adjusting its policies to comply with Trump's executive order saying the federal government only recognizes two sexes.
The department has never offered gender-affirming surgeries, but has provided treatments including hormone therapy, voice and communication training and gender-affirming prosthetics.
The VA said it would stop providing hormone therapy to any veterans unless they are already receiving such care from the VA or were receiving it from the military and upon their separation from the military.
The VA had also been providing letters of support encouraging non-VA medical providers to perform gender-affirming surgeries, but that will now end.
The Veterans Health Administration estimates that less than 0.1 percent of the 9.1 million veterans enrolled in VA health care are transgender.
According to the release, any savings made by stopping such care will go toward helping paralyzed veterans and amputees.
What People Are Saying
VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement: "All eligible Veterans—including trans-identified Veterans—will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law. But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime."
Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America, said in a statement that the decision is "a direct attack on the dignity and well-being of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex veterans—one that will have deadly outcomes."
Church added: "Transgender individuals serve at a higher rate than the general public; this decision will force our community to defer or delay care and opt out of VA services altogether. This decision will exacerbate our already devastatingly high suicide rates and push more veterans into crisis for no reason other than hate. VA is abandoning those who have served, stripping us of critical health care protections, and sending a clear message that our lives and service to our country do not matter."
Emily Shilling, president of SPARTA, a nonprofit that supports transgender service members and veterans, said: "The foundation of military service is trust, trust in leadership, in our fellow service members, and in the promise that if we give our all, we will be taken care of. Yet today, transgender service members are being forced out, denied basic dignity at the VA, and are now being stripped of the health care promised to every veteran who served honorably. This is a betrayal of that sacred trust, one that weakens our force, our veterans, and the nation we swore to defend."
Rachel Branaman, executive director of Modern Military Association of America, said in a statement: "VA's' rollback of crucial protections, specifically the elimination of Directive 1341, is a direct assault on the well-being of vulnerable LGBTQ+ veterans, jeopardizing their access to essential care."
Branaman added: "Combined with the administration's planned cut of 80,000 VA employees, these actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the nation's commitment to those who have served. We must demand accountability and fight to restore these vital protections by urging Congress to protect veterans' rights and ensure they receive the respectful, clinically appropriate care they deserve without fear of discrimination."
What's Next
The VA said it would stop offering the medical treatment to veterans who were not already receiving such care immediately, but it was not clear when the VA would stop providing it to all veterans.
The release said eligible transgender veterans and those diagnosed with gender dysphoria will "continue to receive comprehensive VA health care, which includes preventive and mental health care."
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About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more