The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is burdened the medical treatments that affirm the genre for veterans, including hormonal treatment for patients recently diagnosed with gender dysphoria, has announced the va on Monday.
The va will continue the hormonal treatment for veterans who currently receive it or were receiving it when they separated from the military. The logic is that a sharp termination can be harmful to the health of patients.
The political change was made to respect an executive order of President Trump, entitled “Defending women from the extremism of gender ideology and restore biological truth to the federal government,” said the VA in a press release.
This order states that the United States recognizes only two sexes, male and females, that “are not changing”.
“I do not intend to lack anyone with respect to anyone, but it should not focus on helping veterans to try to change their sex,” said Doug Collins, secretary of Va.
Transgender veterans will continue to be welcome to the VA, he added: “But if veterans want to try to change their sex, they can do it for their cents”.
The VA has provided care for gender transition to veterans since 2011. He has never provided surgical interventions, but offered support services. In addition to hormonal therapy, these have included mental health care, preoperative assessments and letters to support the need for procedures, as well as post -term post -term postoperative care.
Fertility services have also been offered, prosthesis devices such as wigs and vocal coaching. These services had been authorized on the basis of a directive goes to the guidance of health care for transgender and intersex veterans who know 1341 (4), which has been canceled.
Many VA mental health suppliers have had concerns about their ability to continue to provide adequate care for transgender patients after it has been ordered to remove the flags and rainbow cords, brochures that describe the services offered to veterans LGBTQ+ and to the walls of walls that read “all are the welcome here” and “serve all those who served”.
Mary Brinkmeyer, a psychologist who coordinated the care for LGBTQ+ veterans at the Hampon Va Medical Center in Virginia, refused to remove signs and flyers. Recently he resigned, fearing that mental health assistance for transgender veterans would be compromised.
“Our Code of Ethics is” first do not do damage “and if you are taken between an institutional question and your code of ethics, you must solve it in favor of the Code of Ethics,” said dr. Brinkmeyer.
The cessation of hormonal treatment, together with the recent designation of bathrooms va and hospital rooms by biological sex, “will have a real chilling effect on the will of veterans to seek care for gender dysphoria,” he said.
Studies indicate that gender dysphoria is much higher among veterans than the general population and that the risk of suicide events is 20 times higher among veterans with gender dysphoria than the general population of the health administration of veterans.
“If veterans have no other health insurances – and many transgender veterans are homeless or undoing – will they not look for care if they are suicide rather than going to the va?” He asked Dr. Brinkmeyer.