Signed by President Joe Biden National Defense Authorization Act It includes a provision that strips medical coverage from transgender minors who are children or dependents of military personnel.
The $895 billion bill focuses on military funding, pay for military personnel, housing and child care services, and has been targeted by Republicans who have introduced amendments attacking transgender health care.
Under a provision introduced by Republicans, Tricare, the military’s health insurance, would be prohibited from covering treatment for “gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization” for minor dependents of service members.
Hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery will be excluded from TriCare, but it remains unclear whether puberty blockers will also be banned, although the purpose of this provision is to limit coverage of treatments related to gender dysphoria transition. It is something to do.
The House passed the bill 281-140, with 81 Democrats voting in favor of passage. Sixteen Republicans voted against the bill, but not because of health restrictions for transgender people.
Senate Democrats attacked the provision, but were unable to remove it from the bill, which ultimately passed by an 85-14 vote.
Despite coming under pressure from LGBTQ advocacy groups, Mr. Biden said he would give Republicans more ammunition to attack Democrats who could be branded as insufficiently supportive of the military. Unwillingly, he signed the bill.
The bill leaves in place the ban on transition-related care and is the first anti-LGBTQ bill to pass both houses of Congress since the now-defunct “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law was first introduced in 1993. It becomes a bill.
Biden issued a statement saying he was willing to support most of the bill’s funding provisions, but expressed concern about the transgender care ban, which targets groups based on gender identity. argued that it “interferes with parents’ role in determining the best care.” their children. ”
He also said the provision undermines the military’s ability to recruit and retain qualified service members, some of whom “must make decisions between access to health care for their families and the mission of national service.” “There may be some who are forced to leave the military because of pressure to do so.” ”
Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Biden and members of Congress “let military families down” by passing the Tricare ban.
“Military families risk everything for our country,” she said in a statement. “They are instantly uprooted, make great personal sacrifices, and often risk their lives to protect our freedoms.
“That sacrifice has been denigrated and children have been used as political bargaining chips. For them, this law is not about politics; they are losing the freedom to make their own health care decisions. It’s about that.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
