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

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Mon 16 Jun 2025 06.00 EDT


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.

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.

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. Medical experts said the implications of rule changes uncovered by the Guardian could be far-reaching.

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

[UpInArms]

1. Evil evil evil

This maladminstration is evil

[Trueblue1968]

28. UNCONSTITUTIONAL. !!!!!!!!!

[GB_RN]

2. What. The. Absolute...

F**k?!?!

Doctors take an oath upon graduation, and there’s nothing there about refusing care because the patient is an “other.” Hell, you can’t refuse medical care for wounded POWs.

I am flabbergasted. 😵‍💫

[BlueKota]

4. Any medical "professional,"

should have their medical license stripped away by their state's medical board, if they refuse to treat anyone.

[GB_RN]

18. Seriously.

If…say…the worst pedophile was brought to my hospital with a heart attack, I couldn’t refuse to treat him. Personal feelings and politics have nothing to do with patient care.

[Blackjackdavey]

33. I was planning to make a similar comment

Any Licensed Social Worker (LCSW) will likely find themselves in hot water with their prospective licensing board for unethical behavior. OFC, they'll just start hiring unlicensed people but hey, why should veterans expect experienced help anyway I guess?

[Docreed2003]

3. Blatantly unconstitutional

[BlueKota]

5. Sadly, we are no longer protected by the Constitution.

Donny and the SC6 have for all intents and purposes ripped it up and burned the shreds.

[Marthe48]

9. What about the Hippocratic Oath?

The Ten Commandments?
The Sermon on the Mount?

Human decency?

[Docreed2003]

17. Oh I completely agree Marthe48...it's disgusting all around

[BattleRow]

20. More hypocritic than Hippocratic.

[Silent Type]

6. First time that happens, there will be so many lawsuits that TACO and his henchmen will back down.

[Miguelito Loveless]

19. Trump has been sued his entire life

and sues everybody who sues him.

None of this will deter him.

[SpankMe]

7. Dems need to draft and propose legislation that reverses this

I know it won't go anywhere since Repubs own the legislative branch. But it makes a statement of resistance and also has everything in writing so that when and if Dems have control again, they have the legislation drafted and ready to push through quickly.

[The Grand Illuminist]

8. Only way to do this is

to add political affiliation, ideology, and party to be protected classes for the civil rights act.

[et tu]

13. i agree

we must resist on all levels constantly

[Marthe48]

23. That's like the movie Bedazzled

Dudley Moore made a deal with Satan (Peter Cook) to win the love of a woman (Eleanor Bron) he adored. Try as he might, Moore couldn't get the language of the deal written without a loophole that Satan took advantage of. I think Moore had 7 chances to get the wording correct. Dark, funny movie.
Anyway, I get the feeling that no matter how the law is written, felon rapist will find a lawyer willing to twist the law into something obscene, or ignore it.

He's 79, and falling apart.

[bdamomma]

10. Fuck him

and executive orders!!!!!!! He is a threat to all of us!!!!! Mock him continuously.

[SupportSanity]

11. Doctors can be boycotted also - and it may be legal to boycott them publicly. The numbers boycotting them matter.

Maybe there should be a directory of providers who are denying service based on their prejudice to ____ insert prejudice here.

[sakabatou]

12. Right then. Report them to whichever school gave them their license and have it revoked

[azureblue]

14. the bible forbids

eating pork. So can I refuse to pay money to a bacon eater?
All this is, is using the government to force religious values on others.

[surfered]

15. Despite the administration's despicable "rules," I doubt VA doctors would actually do that.

[rsdsharp]

16. Good God. Can no one in the administration read the equal protection clause?

[Attilatheblond]

22. They read the room, the one where the SCOTUS kisses their ass and allows constant law breaking

edited for typo

[Attilatheblond]

21. People, wake UP! This is Step One in the coming policy that will likely make it OK to deny care to any/all Veterans

Raise hell!

[MIButterfly]

24. I hate that evil, petty little nonhuman more every single day.

Is there no low he won't stoop to? And to Hell with his followers and enablers too.

Disgusting. But I should expect no less from the likes of him.

[Fil1957]

25. Looking at 1930s Germany, this is how it starts...

[Bev54]

26. So can these doctors also refuse treatment to republicans and Maga?

[jls4561]

27. If all medical professionals refused treat the orange rapist, he'd be gone in five minutes.

[William769]

29. Uneffing believable

[mkp]

30. About Bone Spurs

Personal Note: From me to you Stable GeniusDonald DON'T FUCK WITH OUR VA BENEFITS sir.
PS Your birthday parade party sucked!

[TommieMommy]

31. That's just horrible 😔

[chouchou]

32. The best solution for most of the population, would be to draw-up a bill that says: Republicans shall not vote.

Hey...I can dream...

[Prairie_Seagull]

34. I am not trying to add misery to madness but

I think it is important to really understand what the Hippocratic Oath is and what it is not.

Read in it's entirety. The important stuff is down in this entry. IMO

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath

[Lulu KC]

35. And off to court he goes

Again.
I can't imagine the Supremes backing up this kind of hogwash.