A leading group of U.S. doctors passed a resolution Monday saying there’s no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from the military.
The resolution, approved unanimously by the American Medical Association’s policy-making House of Delegates, calls the military’s current rules about transgender service members “out of date” and says transgender men and women are fit to serve in high-stress environments just as any other qualified members are.
“The new AMA policy adds to a growing public consensus, including former public health and military officers, which questions the military’s policies toward transgender individuals, and the negative impact these policies have on the health and of transgender service members,” said AMA President Dr. Robert Wah.
Some branches of the military have already modified their policies. Last week, the Air Force said identifying as transgender is no longer grounds for discharge. But the Pentagon still prohibits openly transgender individuals from joining the military.
Bruce Jenner’s announcement last week that he is now identifying as a woman named Caitlyn Jenner — and an accompanying photo spread in Vanity Fair — has heightened public focus on the issue of how transgender Americans should be received in society.
Four former U.S. surgeons general affirmed the stance adopting by the medical group, saying in a joint statement that there’s no medically valid reason to exclude transgender Americans from service.
“Transgender service members should, as is the case with all personnel, receive the medical care that they need,” said Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher, Regina Benjamin and Kenneth Moritsugu.
