The Trump administration has banned Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors from recommending “trans” surgery and other care to confused veterans.
The change in policy was finalized in July via the amending of the Veterans Health Administration Directive 1134(3), which “governs how VA clinicians provide medical statements and fill out VA and non-VA forms,” according to The Advocate, a pro-gay magazine.
“In accordance with VHA Notice 2025-01(1), providers are not permitted to complete non-VA documentation for the purpose of gender alteration surgery,” the amended directive reads.
This is a big deal for the trans community because, while the VA doesn’t perform “trans” surgery, it has a history of providing “trans” patients with the documentation required by private hospitals and insurers to obtain access to such care.
“This isn’t a theoretical restriction,” an anonymous VA doctor who spoke with The Advocate stressed. “It will stop some veterans from getting [“trans”] care altogether.”
This change in policy comes after VA Secretary Doug Collins announced in March that the agency would soon phase out care for trans veterans.
BREAKING: VA Secretary Doug Collins just announced that the VA is ending taxpayer funded s*x change medical treatments and will stop issuing letters of approval for s*x change surgery.
All savings from this change will go towards helping paralyzed Veterans and amputees. pic.twitter.com/ovo2dfgmea
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 17, 2025
“I mean no disrespect to anyone, but VA should not be focused on helping Veterans attempt to change their sex,” Collins said at the time. “The vast majority of Veterans and Americans agree, and that is why this is the right decision.”
“All eligible Veterans – including trans-identified Veterans – will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law. But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime,” he added.
Critics now allege that the policy doesn’t make sense since it technically costs the VA nothing just to recommend “trans” care for someone.
“There’s no rationale that I could point to other than it’s just simply an attack on transgender people for the sake of attacking,” the anonymous VA doctor told The Advocate. “Why else? Because it’s not costing you anything. It’s just getting in the way of their care.”
The doctor added that writing a letter of support for “trans” care takes just a couple of minutes max.
“For the endocrinology side, what, a few minutes? You simply write a letter to confirm that this person is under my care and that I support them,” the doctor argued.
“Mental health letters may take a bit longer if a full evaluation is conducted, but if a provider is already seeing the veteran in therapy, it doesn’t require much extra time to write a simple letter. It’s not hard. It’s not costly. But now it’s prohibited,” the physician added.
But supporters of the VA’s policy change argue that even a second spent on writing a support letter is a second of taxpayer money wasted.
VA is phasing out treatment for gender dysphoria. All savings from this change will go toward helping paralyzed Veterans and amputees. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime. https://t.co/gVzUhx2JDi
— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) March 17, 2025
Supporters also note that the policy change that was announced in March and finalized four months later specifically mentioned that “all savings VA achieves by stopping specific medical treatments for gender dysphoria will be redirected to help severely injured VA beneficiaries — such as paralyzed Veterans and amputees — regain their independence.”
The anonymous VA doctor that The Advocate spoke to remained unconvinced by all of these arguments. If anything, the physician only doubled down, even going so far as to bring up the famous “first they came” poem.
“I think about that poem, First they came, and how it fits this moment,” the doctor said. “Right now, it’s transgender veterans being targeted. But this is going to affect everybody. If you’re a veteran receiving care at the VA, this could affect what you have access to down the road as well. We should all care about this.”
“This isn’t just about transgender veterans. It’s about the VA disregarding science, disregarding ethics, disregarding the humanity of the people it’s supposed to serve,” the doctor added.
FYI, actual science makes it clear that a man cannot turn into a woman and vice versa.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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