A story in the Washington Post
this weekend focused on the ousting of a highly regarded transgender
sailor. In the article, a Pentagon spokeswoman indicated that the
military has no plans to lift its ban even though the psychiatric
community has reversed its determination that gender nonconformity is a
mental disorder. Explaining the Pentagon's rationale, she declared that
"Service members must serve in austere environments, many of which make
necessary and ongoing treatments related to sex reassignment and many
other conditions untenable."
A day later, the Pentagon issued a Human Goals Charter
that applies to gay, lesbian and bisexual troops but not transgender
ones. Asked by a journalist why the document excludes gender identity, a
spokesperson said that to "meet the needs of the services," requires
"the ability to deploy to and serve in austere environments with limited
(and perhaps no) access to medical care for prolonged periods on little
or no notice."
Retired
RADM Alan M. Steinman, MD, who served as the top medical official in
the Coast Guard and co-authored the new report with Dr. Elders, said the
Pentagon's rationale is invalid. "There are glaring inconsistencies
between the way the military deals with transgender personnel and how
they deal with everyone else," he said. "We looked in great detail at
the medical risks of deploying transgender troops and found that meeting
their health care needs is no more difficult or risky than meeting the
medical needs of anyone else."
Aaron Belkin,
director of the Palm Center, noted that, "President Obama has the
authority to end the ban on transgender service through executive
action. "The Pentagon is using old talking points that no longer reflect
today's medical consensus. What is unclear is if the Pentagon's
outdated rationale and discriminatory policy reflect the views of the
President and his administration."
The
Elders-Steinman report noted inconsistencies in the treatment of
transgender troops, who the Pentagon bars under the guise of requiring
burdensome medical treatment even though most do not, at the same time
that tens of thousands of non-transgender troops are tolerated despite
having extensive medical needs.
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