Published May 2, 2022
On Monday, May 2, 2022, EPPC Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow Mary Rice Hasson and Fellow Rachel N. Morrison met with federal government officials to discuss concerns over a proposal by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to remove the current exclusion for “gender alterations” from its medical benefits package. EPPC scholars objected to the VA’s characterization that such care is “medically necessary” and that it is “consistent with medical industry standards.”
The EPPC scholars raised the following points in objection to the proposal:
- There is no need for federal regulatory action.
- The VA must specify the diagnosis requiring treatment and the medical services that will be covered.
- “Gender affirming” medical and surgical interventions are not “medically necessary” treatments for gender dysphoria.
- “Gender-affirming care,” including medical and surgical interventions promoted as first-line treatments for gender dysphoria, is not governed by internationally accepted, evidence-based “standards of care.”
- The lack of standards and poor evidence base for “gender-affirming” interventions likely preclude the possibility of meaningful informed consent.
Click here to view a PDF of the scholars’ full comments at the meeting.
Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., is the Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where she co-founded and directs the Person and Identity Project, an initiative that educates and equips parents and faith-based institutions to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, on topics related to women, education, and gender ideology. She serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family, Life and Youth. Recently, Mary was honored to receive the Christifideles Laici award at the 2023 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
