{"id":79274,"date":"2024-02-26T19:35:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T19:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/26\/va-again-delays-decision-on-transgender-surgery-options\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:16:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:16:55","slug":"va-again-delays-decision-on-transgender-surgery-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2024\/02\/26\/va-again-delays-decision-on-transgender-surgery-options\/","title":{"rendered":"VA again delays decision on transgender surgery options"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs leaders will delay plans to offer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2024\/01\/25\/transgender-vets-sue-va-to-force-move-on-gender-confirmation-surgeries\/\" target=\"_blank\">expanded surgery options to transgender veterans<\/a> for at least several more months as they conduct new studies into the issue, a decision a senior House Democrat called \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move comes in response to a lawsuit filed last month by the Transgender American Veterans Association, which argues department officials are endangering the health of transgender veterans by refusing to provide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2023\/06\/20\/after-two-years-still-no-timeline-for-transgender-surgeries-at-va\/\" target=\"_blank\">gender confirmation surgery<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/military-honor\/salute-veterans\/2023\/11\/08\/mcdonough-wants-va-to-reach-every-veteran-in-the-country\/\" target=\"_blank\">VA Secretary Denis McDonough<\/a> in June 2021 announced plans to offer the procedures, also known as gender reassignment surgeries, at some department medical centers as part of larger efforts to make VA \u201cmore welcoming\u201d to all veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in the nearly three years since that announcement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2021\/06\/19\/va-to-offer-gender-surgery-to-transgender-vets-for-the-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\">no surgeries have been performed<\/a>, and the issue remains stalled in the rulemaking process.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2024\/01\/25\/transgender-vets-sue-va-to-force-move-on-gender-confirmation-surgeries\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1052957428.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Transgender vets sue VA to force move on gender confirmation surgeries<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The move comes on the three-year anniversary of President Joe Biden&#039;s repeal of the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to the TAVA lawsuit, McDonough on Feb. 22 issued a memo saying the department has not yet decided \u201chow and when it might ultimately provide gender affirming surgery\u201d and that officials need to better understand how other recent rules changes \u2014 including an expansion of health care options under the PACT Act \u2014 might impact the number of veterans eligible for those procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a press conference on Monday, McDonough said he expects that review to take several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve said before that transgender veterans deserve world-class health care and benefits, and that gender-affirming care should be available to all vets who need it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019re not ready to begin rulemaking at this point to address [gender confirmation surgeries.]\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates have decried those delays. In their lawsuit, TAVA officials called the surgeries \u201cmedically necessary care\u201d and said the failure to move ahead with the procedures \u201cputs transgender veterans at increased risk of physical harm, psychological distress, and suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement Monday, officials from the Yale Law School\u2019s Veterans Legal Services Clinic (which filed the lawsuit along with TAVA) said that McDonough \u201chas broken his promise to transgender veterans to provide life-saving, doctor-prescribed, transition-related surgical care\u201d with the latest move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif., echoed those concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA has been studying the impact of gender-affirming care on the veteran community for years,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cAll of the studies I have read point to this type of care being important and necessary for transgender veterans. I am extremely frustrated that it has taken three years for VA to make this disappointing decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Takano noted that the department\u2019s inaction on the issue comes as transgender health care has become a target of conservative lawmakers across the country. He criticized the department for failing to lead on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will continue to push the secretary to make the right decision,\u201d he said. \u201cThis unacceptable outcome cannot be the final word from this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McDonough did not give a specific end date for the latest review, but said he would \u201cbe prepared to dig into that as soon as it\u2019s finished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, VA officials have estimated that as many as 4,000 veterans nationwide would be interested in the procedures, also known as gender reassignment surgeries. The department does offer other support for transgender veterans, but those services have come under criticism from conservative lawmakers in recent months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The department will conduct a new review on the procedures, pushing a final ruling on the issue back by at least several more months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,7,23,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-79274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2VPEYYGRGVGONC5EXWYPFJNFDQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2024\/02\/26\/va-again-delays-decision-on-transgender-surgery-options\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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