The military will refer patients seeking the procedures to the private sector.
The U.S. Department of Defense said in a new memorandum that it is halting medical treatments and procedures for troops who identify as transgender and other personnel with gender dysphoria (GD).
“Within the direct care component, meaning at military medical treatment facilities … Service members and all other covered beneficiaries 19 years of age or older may only receive mental health care and counseling for GD,” Dr. Stephen L. Ferrara, acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in the memo, which is dated May 9.
“Apart from consults for the diagnosis of GD and provision of mental health care and counseling … staff will refer all other care (e.g., cross-sex hormone therapy) for GD to the private sector.”
The Pentagon did not return a request for comment by publication time.
Gender dysphoria refers to when a person believes they’re a gender that’s different from their sex.
President Donald Trump, after taking office in January, said in an order that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
Defense officials later said that all troops with a history of gender dysphoria would be discharged, with limited exceptions. That process was paused after court rulings against the policy. The Supreme Court on May 6 stayed those rulings, enabling officials to resume the process.
Officials said on May 8 that they were discharging about 1,000 troops who identify as transgender or otherwise have gender dysphoria.
Ferrara said in the new memo, which was sent to the director of the Defense Health Agency and assistant secretaries at the Army, Navy, and Air Force, that he was providing fresh guidance in light of the Supreme Court ruling.
That includes emphasizing that military doctors are not to perform any surgeries that would aid in gender transition, such as breast removal.
Ferrara also said that all unscheduled, scheduled, and planned surgical procedures “associated with facilitating sex reassignment for Service members diagnosed with GD” are now canceled, as are any previously approved waivers for the surgeries. Ferrara said his office would accept waiver requests for care deemed medically necessary to address surgical complications.
