Trans vets demand US pay for sex-changes: lawsuit

The US Department of Veteran Affairs has been sued by a group of transgender veterans demanding that the government pay for sex-change surgeries at the cost of taxpaying citizens. 

The complaint was filed by the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) on Thursday at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. 

Plaintiffs in the case argue in a press release that transgender veterans cannot afford sex-change surgeries through private doctors, citing that the procedures are "often prohibitively expensive." 

As of now, the VA offers hormones and other gender-affirming treatments at a few of its locations, but the plaintiffs allege that the options are simply not enough.

In a the press statement from TAVA, the group claims that “gender-confirmation surgery dramatically reduces the risks of suicidal ideation, depression, and psychological distress for transgender people.” 

However, some experts in the gender medicine field disagree with this assertion, saying that trans activists pushing sex change to combat suicide, at least in children and adolescents, is "purposeful disinformation" and "irresponsible."  

They called on VA Secretary Denis McDonough to follow through on past remarks in which he reportedly pledged that sex-change surgeries would be offered to former service members. 

These surgeries come at a hefty cost and could result in a greater financial burden on US taxpayers.

There are approximately 163,000 transgender veterans associated with TAVA, and the lawsuit could result in tens-of-thousands of claims for sex-change operations that cost more than $100,000, per the group's statement. 

Speaking on the suit, TAVA president Rebekka Eshler said: "Transgender veterans have waited far too long for the VA to provide the gender-affirming surgery so many of us need to survive." 

"We hope that this lawsuit will force Secretary McDonough to follow through on what he has been promising us since 2021. We're tired of empty promises. We need care," said Eshler.