'Extremely disturbing and unethical': new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans

[AZProgressive]

Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump.

The new rules, obtained by the Guardian, also apply to psychologists, dentists and a host of other occupations. They have already gone into effect in at least some VA medical centers.

(snip)

Doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity, documents reviewed by the Guardian show. The changes also affect chiropractors, certified nurse practitioners, optometrists, podiatrists, licensed clinical social workers and speech therapists.

In making the changes, VA officials cite the president’s 30 January executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”. The primary purpose of the executive order was to strip most government protections from transgender people. The VA has since ceased providing most gender-affirming care and forbidden a long list of words, including “gender affirming” and “transgender”, from clinical settings.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/16/va-doctors-refuse-treat-patients

[Lovie777]

1. Unconstitutional................

another lawsuit.

[hadEnuf]

16. Pure Nazism is more like it.

Will Democrats need to wear badges identifying themselves as such soon?

Put NOTHING past this administration. Pay attention to everything they do, even if it is little moves to chip away at the stone.

They are avowed racists, fascists, White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis.

[Fil1957]

35. This is how it starts...

[paleotn]

19. Granted. But will it matter if deemed unconstitutional?

They may simply ignore the courts. Want treatment? Well, you’ll have to sue us first and even then it may not matter

This has Xitian nationalists finger prints all over it. Welcome to Gilead.

[AZ8theist]

55. This is the start of GENOCIDE.

Genocide of anyone who does not lick the feet of Dear Leader.

[Iris]

2. Is there some rationale behind this? Unmarried?

And how would they know they are Democrats?

This is absurd.

Edited: I see the sentence now about how this is targeted at transgender people. As if there are no R trans people and they are all somehow unmarried??

[AZProgressive]

5. For some reason they're using that executive order

To remove the requirement to treat veterans regardless of their politics or marital status though not sure why.

I probably should have included different excerpts but I wanted to get in there the paragraph that this all started with Trump claiming to "defend" women because I thought that was absurd.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Targetted at same sex marriages, I think. . . . nt

[Iris]

47. Oh - yes. I forgot - military is back to don't ask don't tell

and worse

[Hekate]

21. Theocracy. Burn the witches -- i.e. the nonconformists

[Iris]

48. I don't know why the blatantness if it stuns me

[rzemanfl]

3. Oaths mean nothing

to these motherfuckers.

[Magoo48]

18. What kind of doctor would follow such a fucking rule as this

It’s time for government officials, as well as anyone else touched by this mad man’s nonsense, to simply ignore SOB..

[usaf-vet]

26. None that would get a chance to treat this former USAF medic. I cannot imagine ANY doctor I served with following.....

.... this if they honor their first oath, FIRST DO NO HARM!

[Magoo48]

39. Good to hear.

[Skittles]

51. imagine medics doing this

deciding who to treat based on repuke criteria

[haele]

45. There are some that have more of a religious calling than a medical one.

It's especially prevalent in nursing (maybe because there's more nurses than doctors?), but some folks have "the calling to service God" above the calling to a particular type of service.
And those folks are the psychopaths who feel the need to categorize their patients into deserving and undeserving of mercy, understanding or help in general.

[enough]

4. Had to read this a couple times to make sure it's not satire.

Even SCOTUS can’t agree with this…… or could they?

[James48]

7. It's not satire. It's real.

And probably would pass Supreme Court muster with this Supreme Court.

It’s morally repugnant.

Typical of the Trump administration. They are so full of hate.

[OverBurn]

41. I first thought was from The Onion. The most despicable government we've ever had to live through.

I've got to be able to turn this around in future elections, right? right?

[WestMichRad]

6. Please let this be bad satire.

Sick policy.

[LymphocyteLover]

8. This is of course insane and we live in insane times because the GOP is insane and evil

[Kaleva]

9. VA can now also deny care to veterans who are shorter than average

Or those who have red hair.

[highplainsdem]

10. Did a quick search. Only The Guardian is reporting this so far.

[BoRaGard]

11. G.O.P. continues to disgrace itself: unAmerican and anti-Christian

[William Seger]

13. Here's the change:

Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated.

[Seinan Sensei]

59. So are Veterans now free to demand

… that their care-providers are married Republicans?
Who sre Heterosexual?
And White?
And Baptist?

[highplainsdem]

14. Not only is no other news outlet reporting this, but The Guardian's account on Bluesky has no posts

linking to this story. I think they might've been pranked.

[AZProgressive]

15. It could be an exclusive

It says they obtained the new rules and they contacted VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz who confirmed the changes but said they were a formality to comply with Trump's executive order.

I found this story on Bluesky but can't remember what account I found it from. It was posted pretty early, I woke up about 4am AZ time.

I would love the story to be false but hopefully it doesn't change things too much when it comes to the quality of care veterans receive. The US MSM especially the news channels don't report many negative things about Trump which is why I think he won in 2024. They seem to hold Democrats to higher standards than Republicans especially when it comes to Trump.

[questionseverything]

43. Look at post # 13

[highplainsdem]

44. Post 13 is simply another two paragraphs from the same Guardian article. But some other outlets have

reported on this since I posted my earlier reply, when only the Guardian had the story.

[mainer]

17. doesn't this mean they can also refuse to treat MAGAs?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[mountain grammy]

20. Based on trumplaw! EO number what the fuck!

[barbtries]

22. dystopian.

this cannot stand.

[ms liberty]

23. If true, it's blatantly unconstitutional. Wonder what else is in it?

[marble falls]

24. As soon as they refuse someone treatment the Courts will stop that shit.

[ffr]

25. Sick

Whomever follows such guidelines is mentally sick.

[Grins]

27. This - just 2-days after a massive celebration of - the military

Every day - a new horror.

[enigmania]

28. Ongoing five-alarm fire.

[Norrrm]

29. Can now discriminate against blacks, whites, women, Jews by using these other excuses.

"Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex,..."

Can claim it's because the __________ has certain beliefs.

[NBachers]

30. "I'm sorry, we can't admit you. It says here you voted Democrat in the last election."

[Kaleva]

36. They can also deny care to those who are left handed

[bamagal62]

52. Yep. And now Doge has all our info.

[perdita9]

31. I want a tax break

If I'm going to be denied services I shouldn't have to pay the same rate as a Republican

[Cherokee100]

33. What comes next

What comes next, yellow patches?

[Kali999]

34. Not enough

doctors now. They are wrecking it deliberately.

[Kaleva]

37. Under these new rules, Republicans can be denied care.

[SunImp]

54. It would serve them right, but Dem/leftists doctors have integrity & value their oath as medical professionals.

[bif]

40. Can someone wake me u when this nightmare is over?

FFS! This is getting surreal!

[YoshidaYui]

42. I can see the sign on the door, ...

No Dogs NoSingles No Democrats No Minorities No Gays No Women allowed ONLY Rich Republican Males with high sperm counts only!! Balls checked at the door!!

[vankuria]

46. Just a thought

This maybe a deliberate way of disabling the entire VA, I mean what kind of dr’s would agree to such nonsense? Dr’s and other professionals will leave in droves and they won’t be replaced.

[SupportSanity]

49. Feel free to openly boycott doctors who are boycotting others. Shame - embarrass - open resistance. HIDE NOTHING!!!!!

They only get away with it if nobody reacts to THIS insanity.

It's a shame that we have to do this, but here we are.

[electric_blue68]

50. Wth?! Hopefully this will not happen.

[Pisces]

53. This is insane!!

[pansypoo53219]

56. it will be undone. EVENTUALLY. i swear they will have him in a straightjacket by next year.

[dchill]

57. I just KNOW Mike Lee thinks this is perfectly hilarious.

[Permanut]

58. Ah, yes and Larry the disabled veteran voted for Trump..

Met him at a veterans' breakfast last November, just after the election.

He said he didn't like Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, so he voted for Trump.

Haven't seen him since; I wonder if he still believes Trump was the best choice.