Transgender veterans are suing the federal government to force it to pay for their sex-change operations, which cost up to $130,000 each.
The American Transgender Veterans Association argues in its federal lawsuit filed Thursday that Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough failed to keep a promise made in 2021.
Among the plaintiffs is Natalie Kastner, a 39-year-old disabled Texas veteran who nearly died when she hit an artery while trying to castrate herself with scissors.
The “failure to provide gender confirmation surgery [that] puts transgender veterans at greater risk of physical harm, psychological distress, and suicide,” the group’s lawsuit says.
There are about 150,000 transgender veterans alive and at least 10,000 receive some type of transition-related care, the group says. The VA already covers some treatments, including hormone therapy, at some of its facilities.
Without funding, transgender veterans are forced to pay for “often prohibitively expensive” procedures (costing between $50,000 and $130,000) or continue to suffer from gender dysphoria, the group says.
Disabled veteran Natalie Kastner nearly died while trying to castrate herself with scissors and a knife. Natalie Kastner/Facebook
Kastner, a father of three, took drastic action in March 2022 when he was unable to pay the $60,000 quote for the surgery.
Instead, he attempted to perform an autoorchiectomy (or surgical removal of the testicles) with a knife and scissors in a bathroom, and nearly died after hitting an artery.
“I didn’t go into that bathroom looking to kill myself,” Kastner said. “I went into that bathroom looking to get ready.
“I can only imagine how many others have done the same thing and haven’t been so lucky, and have simply been ruled suicides.”
Kastner tried to get private insurance, but was told none in Texas covered gender confirmation surgery.
“These surgeries are truly life-saving care,” Kastner told NBC News. “The VA says it serves those who have served, and those words ring hollow right now.”
The veterans group first pushed for the department to pay for sex-change operations in May 2016. In 2021, McDonough announced that the VA was “taking the first necessary steps to expand VA care to include sex-change surgery.” gender confirmation.
The association’s president, Rebekka Eshler, says the group is “tired of empty promises.” Border University of Nursing
McDonough then noted that the process would take about two years.
The transgender group’s president, Rebekka Eshler, said the lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C. on Thursday because affected veterans could no longer hope for help.
“Transgender veterans have waited too long for the VA to provide them with the gender-affirming surgery many of us need to survive,” Eshler said in a statement.
“We are tired of empty promises; “We need attention.”
On Thursday the court ordered the VA to respond within 14 days.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has promised to offer gender-affirming procedures at VA hospitals in 2021. Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock Sex-change procedures can cost between $50,000 and $130,000, according to a federal lawsuit. Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Department of Veterans Affairs declined to comment on pending litigation.
But press secretary Terrence Hayes said the department aims to “provide transgender veterans (and all veterans) with the top-notch care and benefits they deserve.
“We thank each and every one of these heroes for their service and sacrifice, and we will continue to work to serve them as well as they have served our nation.”
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn