Nineteen Democratic state attorneys general have asserted that the Department of Veterans Affairs ought to include expensive genital surgeries in its coverage for veterans identifying as transgender. Their argument rests on the belief that this aligns with the intentions of former Republican President Abraham Lincoln.
In a joint amicus brief filed on Wednesday, the Democratic officials, representing 18 states and Washington, D.C., expressed their support for the Transgender American Veterans Association’s lawsuit against the VA. The lawsuit seeks coverage for vaginoplasty and phalloplasty surgeries.
Quoting President Lincoln’s commitment to care for military service members and their families, the attorneys general emphasized in the amicus brief that the current regulations and directives fail to fulfill this promise for many transgender veterans. They contend that by restricting transgender veterans from accessing necessary medical treatment, the VA falls short of its duty to serve and care for all veterans.
The officials argued that these surgeries, despite potential long-term side effects, are deemed “life-saving” and “medically necessary.” The covered procedures would also include mastectomies for women identifying as men.
They pointed out that transgender veterans with gender dysphoria are denied crucial healthcare, leading to physical suffering, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, they argued that the VA’s approach contradicts the positive experiences of the states supporting the brief, which have found that providing comprehensive healthcare, including necessary surgeries, yields substantial benefits at minimal costs.
While the VA currently uses taxpayer funds for cross-sex hormones, hair removal, and “voice training,” it has yet to initiate coverage for genital and breast surgeries, as announced by Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough.
The amicus brief was endorsed by attorneys general from Washington, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It follows previous attempts by House Republicans to pass a measure prohibiting the use of taxpayer money for transgender procedures.