Yearslong Delay in Covering Transgender Surgeries Prompts Lawsuit Against VA – By Rebecca Kheel (Military.com) / Jan 25, 2024
A group of transgender veterans is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over its delay in offering gender-affirming surgery, something the Biden administration said it was going to do two and a half years ago.
In a lawsuit being filed Thursday, the Transgender American Veterans Association, or TAVA, accused the VA of leaving transgender veterans in a state of limbo with vague promises to eventually offer the often lifesaving surgeries.
“What am I supposed to tell my transgender veterans that are trying to commit suicide because they can’t see themselves in their body?” Bekky Eshler, president of TAVA, told Military.com in a phone interview. “We’ve been trying to be friendly with the VA. We’ve worked with them really well. But at the end of the day, you got to keep your promises.”
