When I read that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs had cut guidelines that prevent doctors from discriminating against patients based on their political beliefs or marital status, I thought this couldn’t possibly be true.
But it is. When asked by The Guardian newspaper, the VA’s press secretary confirmed it.
Peter Kasperowicz, the VA’s press secretary, tried to reassure folks, saying that “all eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law.”
If that’s true, why change the guidelines? In my experience, when bureaucracies go to the trouble of changing their guidelines, they do it for a reason.
The reason given by Mr. Kasperowicz was that the VA is trying to comply with one of the president’s executive orders, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” I read the full text of this order on the National Archives’ website.
Nowhere does the executive order mention marital status or political affiliation (don’t take my word for it — you can read it yourself).
So why has the VA cut its guidelines forbidding discrimination on those bases?
I can’t understand why the VA would even consider withholding care from any veteran simply because of the political party they belong to, or whether or not they are married. I can’t understand doing that to a trans veteran either. The point is: they served. They defended us.
It’s bad enough that we allow veterans to sleep on the streets in this country: are we now going to disrespect, in fact disregard, a person’s service to this country — just because that person doesn’t fit a particular doctor’s political preferences?
If this is all right with you, please explain your reasoning in the comments, because I just don’t understand why the VA changed its rules to allow a veteran of one political party to be treated differently when they have to go to the hospital, nor why marital status should have anything to do with a veteran’s right to receive care.
Susanne Weil
Onalaska
