Transgender vets sue VA to force move on gender confirmation surgeries
By Leo Shane III
Thursday, Jan 25
Advocates for transgender veterans are asking a federal court to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to move ahead with plans to provide gender confirmation surgery and other support services after years of inaction, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The action from the Transgender American Veterans Association and Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic comes two months after the groups threatened legal action against the department and three years since President Joe Biden repealed the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
Advocates say despite promises from VA leadership, the department has not made any meaningful steps towards providing the critical surgeries to interested veterans.
In July 2021, VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced that the department would begin offering the procedures, also known as gender reassignment surgeries, at some department medical centers, part of a larger effort to make VA “more welcoming” to all veterans. But in the 30 months since, no surgeries have been performed, and the issue remains stalled in the rulemaking process.
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2024/01/25/transgender-vets-sue-va-to-force-move-on-gender-confirmation-surgeries/
