Pentagon bans transgenders, people with 'gender dysphoria history' from military
What's the story
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an immediate halt to all gender-affirming medical procedures for active-duty service members.
The memo was issued on February 7, but it became public on Monday as part of a court battle challenging President Donald Trump's order prohibiting transgender individuals from serving in the military.
"Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused," the memo states.
Policy alignment
Hegseth's memo echoes Trump's executive order
"All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for service members are paused," the memo said.
Trump's executive order signed on January 28 revoked previous policies that permitted transgender individuals to serve openly according to their gender identity.
The order states that expressing a "false 'gender identity'" violates military standards and that gender-affirming care is inappropriate for active duty.
Hegseth echoed this sentiment in his memo, saying that identity-based divisions weaken military forces.
Exception
Those already in military will be treated with 'dignity, respect'
Hegseth, however, stated that those with gender dysphoria who are already in the military will be "treated with dignity and respect." He said that the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness would provide more information on what this entails.
According to data from the United States Department of Defense, the military has approximately 1.3 million active service members. While transgender rights campaigners claim there are up to 15,000 transgender personnel, officials estimate the number is in the low thousands.
Legal response
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups challenge ban in court
In light of the new directive, a number of LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have challenged the ban in court.
Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of six transgender service members, claiming that the ban violates constitutional rights under the Fifth and First Amendments.
GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Upcoming hearing
Court hearing scheduled for February 18
Shannon Minter from NCLR emphasized the need for court intervention as it directly impacts transgender applicants and service members.
"Transgender applicants are already being turned away and transgender service members are being targeted and denied medically necessary care," Minter said.
A court hearing has been scheduled for February 18 in Washington DC, with Judge Ana Reyes presiding.