Transgender: US Defense Ministry halts gender-affirming medical care

US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has issued a directive immediately halting gender-affirming medical treatments for all active-duty personnel in a memo addressed to top Pentagon officials and military leadership.

The memo further suspended all new promotions in the armed forces for individuals “with a history of gender dysphoria.”

“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused,” the memo reads.

The US Defence Secretary memo reaffirmed that “individuals with gender dysphoria have volunteered to serve our country and will be treated with dignity and respect,” while also noting that the Department of Defense would offer “additional policy and implementation guidance” for service members “with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria.”

This directive followed President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on January 28, which overturned policies from the Biden administration that had permitted transgender personnel to serve openly in the military according to their gender identity.

The executive order instructed the Department of Defense to amend its policies regarding transgender service members, stating that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.” 

It further asserted that undergoing gender-affirming medical treatments was among the conditions deemed physically and mentally “incompatible with active duty.”

“Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” the order reiterated.

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Hegseth affirmed this stance in his memo, emphasizing that “efforts to split our troops along lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated.”

In response, the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday on behalf of six active-duty transgender service members, contesting the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.

“By categorically excluding transgender people, the 2025 Military Ban and related federal policy and directives violate the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Fifth Amendment and the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment,” the lawsuit stated. 

“They lack any legitimate or rational justification, let alone the compelling and exceedingly persuasive ones required. Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek declaratory, and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief”, the lawsuit further said.

In addition, advocacy organizations GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed a separate legal challenge on January 28 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, representing six more active-duty service members.

According to court filings, a hearing on the case is set for February 18 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, with Judge Ana Reyes presiding.

(ABC News)

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