US Department of Veterans Affairs Building in Washington DC
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On Friday, the Veterans Affairs Department changed a policy that protected the health that confirmed the gender provided to transgender veterans, which led to confusion and fear in the society.
In an internal VA memo appearing on the NPR on Friday, the VA says the directive is recovering on 1341, which contains detailed guidance on seeking care for the VA facilities transgender’s former troops. In this policy, health care providers were also instructed to use preferential, guidance facilities to former conscience soldiers so that veterans could be allowed to use the bathroom and assigned rooms according to their self -identified gender.
The internal memo said the directive “does not affect the current clinical guidance” and the VA “confirms its commitment to take care of all veterans.”
“It’s invasive.” Lindsay Church, executive director of the US Advocate Group Minority Veterans, said. “Transgender veterans now have to ask for themselves: ‘Is it worth me for me to take care of myself? Am I safe to do this? Is that? Discrimination factors I also have to face to go to the bathroom? “” ‘
The advocate was taking a break to recover the directive.
Although transgender people make a small percentage of the population, research Suggest That they are more likely to serve in the army.
Va research It shows that the experienced minority-which includes LGBTQIA, non-binary, interviews and other veterans. The average veterans are more likely to kill their lives. These figures are high for transgender veterans. Experts have an average suicide rate than the general population.
In the internal memo, the VA also said that they would “take a comprehensive review of care for the experienced identity and go through the rule process to review the package of medical benefits”.
The church said the supporters of these veterans were concerned that the upcoming rules review could mean a wholesale rollback on transgender health in the VA.
The VA currently offers gender -verifying health care, including hormone treatment, artificial devices, as well as tools to help transgender veterans present their favorite gender identity.
Although the VA does not offer gender certification surgery, the recovered directive has also stipulated that veterans may also get surgery for other medical conditions, which also have gender certification, such as reducing cancer risk.
Before the VA recovered the directive on Friday, the VA staff members told the NPR that they were receiving more calls worried about their health care providers by transplants.
After The Executive Order of the White House It says it is now an American policy that “recognize two sexes, men and women”, VA has removed some of its websites as well as group references in internal documents in its health care system.
VA has not yet responded to requests to comment on the new directive.
NPR’s Quill Lawrence participated in this report
