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Transgender veterans are suing the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), calling for the government to pay for sex-change surgeries.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) filed a federal lawsuit against the VA, seeking an \u201corder that the VA act on TAVA\u2019s 2016 rulemaking petition for gender-confirmation surgery,\u201d according to a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNearly 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,\u201d the release says. \u201cThe VA\u2019s delay endangers the health and well-being of many of the nation\u2019s 163,000 transgender veterans. It also violates the VA\u2019s legal obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n President of TAVA Rebekka Eshler said that \u201ctransgender people\u2019s true inclusion in the military\u201d includes \u201chealthcare\u201d services.<\/p>\n TAVA member Natalie Kastner claimed that the inability to have sex-change surgery was \u201cmore dangerous\u201d than serving in the military.<\/p>\n \u201cVA\u2019s failure to provide gender-confirmation surgery has been more dangerous for me than my time in the service,\u201d Kastner said. \u201cWithout VA coverage for this surgery, I was financially out of options. I tried to perform my own gender-affirming surgery at home, without any medical training. Were it not for emergency room care, I would have lost my life. I was told that the VA would take care of me because I was willing to risk my life for this country. Instead, I was safer in the service than I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n Kastner told Military.com<\/a> that the VA is \u201cletting us die. They are letting us needlessly die.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Finnish study\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that gender reassignment (GR) surgeries do not benefit the patient\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n Those with gender dysphoria have \u201cmany more common psychiatric needs than do their matched population controls, even when medical GR interventions are carried out,\u201d the study said<\/a>.<\/p>\n The authors added that as the number of individuals contacting gender identity services (GIS) has increased, \u201ctheir needs for psychiatric treatment have increased.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBoth before and after contacting GIS, they present with many more common psychiatric needs than do their matched population controls, even when medical GR interventions are carried out,\u201d they wrote, adding, \u201cThis vastly increased pursuit of GR with increases in psychiatric comorbidities warrants cautious assessment of the timeliness of medical GR and of other treatment needs that may be more urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n