GLAAD STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO DISCRIMINATORY PROVISION TARGETING ACTIVE DUTY AND RETIRED MILITARY FAMILIES IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

(New York, NY — December 9, 2024) GLAAD, the world’s leading LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is responding to a dangerous and discriminatory provision in the final draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) targeting the dependents of military service members and retirees and their essential health care.

The provision would effectively ban nearly all forms of gender-affirming care through TRICARE, health care that is supported by every major medical association as safe, studied, and lifesaving (statements here). TRICARE is the uniformed services healthcare program for active duty service members, active duty family members, National Guard and Reserve members and their family members, retirees and retiree family members, survivors, and certain former spouses worldwide.

If passed, the language inserted into the NDAA would be the first time in American history that a ban on health care for transgender Americans would become part of federal statute. It would be the first broadly anti-LGBTQ federal statute since policies such as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prohibited open service by gay, lesbian, and bisexual members of the military and was repealed more than ten years ago; and the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” banning marriages for same-sex couples from being recognized by the federal government. DOMA was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. It was replaced with the Respect for Marriage Act, codified into law by Congress in 2022 and ensuring.full federal respect for same-sex and interracial marriages, including in hospitals across state lines, in tax and estate considerations, and in regards to all the federal protections of marriage.

GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her) issued the following statement:
“Our national security is being hijacked by the extremist fringe few who want to score political points at the expense of military families. Service members put their lives on the line every single day to protect our freedom and our families – the very least elected officials can do is ensure that the service members’ families are protected too and that they have the freedom to make health care decisions best for their families. This health care is mainstream care supported by every major medical association. Politicians playing games with our military are putting every family at risk. Congress must reject this nonsensical provision and pass a clean defense bill that prioritizes national security and puts our military first.”

For examples of real military families raising transgender youth who need access to health care, reporters can refer to Jane Doe and her 11-year-old daughter, Susan, who are plaintiffs in a case challenging Florida’s ban on transgender health care. The Does are a military family who moved to Florida when John Doe was stationed there as a Senior Officer in the U.S. Navy. “The military doctors we work with understand the importance of providing that evidence-based, individualized care. We’re proud to serve our country, but we are being treated differently than other military families because of a decision by politicians in the state where we are stationed,” said Jane Doe.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti last week, a case challenging Tennessee’s law banning health care such as hormone therapy and puberty-pausing medications for transgender youth under 18, while the same treatments remain available to cisgender (non-transgender) youth.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider the NDAA bill and its provisions this week before it heads to the Senate.