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Common Dreams Update: Following publication of the article found at this URL—originally titled "'Disgusting': VA Doctors Can Now Reportedly Refuse to Treat Unmarried People, Democrats on June 16 and which was based on June 16 Guardian reporting under the headline "'Extremely Disturbing and Unethical': new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans"—that news outlet posted updates to its coverage in response to demands for clarification from the Trump administration's Department of Veterans Affairs.

Due to the nature of the Guardian's changes to their reporting, upon which our article was based, we have made the decision to take down our article, but are including the full text of the original below in the name of transparency.

The Guardian's editorial note for their piece is below, in full, and their updated article can be read here:

Guardian editorial note: This article and its headline were amended on 18 June 2025. An earlier version said that under the new rules, medical staff could refuse to treat veterans based on their beliefs or marital status, and that candidates for hospital positions could face discrimination on grounds of further characteristics removed from the bylaws. After publication, the VA contacted the Guardian citing a 2013 policy directive that it says will continue to protect patients from discrimination despite the redactions in its bylaws; the VA also cited federal law protecting staff from discrimination. The VA further emphasized that federal law gives all eligible veterans access to hospital services. The VA’s comments on this were added.

'Disgusting': VA Doctors Can Now Reportedly Refuse to Treat Unmarried People, Democrats
This is a "political purity tests for people who risked their lives for this country," wrote one veterans group.

In response to a January executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented new guidelines that permit individual doctors and other health professionals to refuse to treat patients based on their marital status or political beliefs, according to Monday reporting from The Guardian.

With the changes in place, "individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law."

According to The Guardian, previously VA hospitals' bylaws said that medical staff could not discriminate against patients based on "race, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, or disability in any employment matter." Terms on that list including, "national origin," "politics," and "marital status," are no longer there.

The changes "seem to open the door to discrimination on the basis of anything that is not legally protected," Dr. Kenneth Kizer, the VA's top healthcare official during the Clinton administration, told The Guardian.

The new guidelines, which also apply to psychologists and other occupations, are already in effect in at least some Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, according to the outlet.

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated healthcare system in the country, provides care at over 1,300 healthcare facilities. According to the VA's website, over 9.1 million veterans are enrolled in the VA healthcare program.

What's more, the outlet reviewed documents that show that medical staff including doctors can now be barred "from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity." Workers like certified nurse practitioners, chiropractors, and licensed clinical social workers, among others, are also impacted by the changes.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who is a senior member and former chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, issued a sharp statement in response to the news.

"Healthcare isn't just a special privilege Trump gets to dole out to veterans who agree with the president—it's a moral obligation our country owes to every single man and woman who serves in uniform. Anyone who doesn't understand that has no business leading our armed forces in any way," wrote Murray in a statement on Monday.

"It's disgusting that this policy was ever allowed to go into effect, and I will not let it fly under the radar," she added.

"This isn't healthcare. It's political purity tests for people who risked their lives for this country. It's unethical, authoritarian, and every one of us should be outraged," wrote VoteVets, a progressive veterans group, in a Bluesky post on Monday in response to The Guardian's reporting.

According to The Guardian, VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz did not dispute these aspects of the new rules, but told the outlet that "all eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law."

The rule change, according to The Guardian, stems from the January 30 executive order called "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."

The outlet reported that 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." The VA is currently led by former Republican congressman Doug Collins.

Kasperowicz confirmed that they were implemented to adhere to January executive order. He called the changes nothing more than a "formality." He added that the revisions were necessary to "ensure VA policy comports with federal law," but did not specify which laws made the changes necessary.

Common Dreams Update: Following publication of this article, which was based on June 16 Guardian reporting, that news outlet posted updates to its coverage in response to demands for clarification from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Guardian's editorial note for their piece is below, in full, and their updated article can be read here.

Guardian editorial note: This article and its headline were amended on 18 June 2025. An earlier version said that under the new rules, medical staff could refuse to treat veterans based on their beliefs or marital status, and that candidates for hospital positions could face discrimination on grounds of further characteristics removed from the bylaws. After publication, the VA contacted the Guardian citing a 2013 policy directive that it says will continue to protect patients from discrimination despite the redactions in its bylaws; the VA also cited federal law protecting staff from discrimination. The VA further emphasized that federal law gives all eligible veterans access to hospital services. The VA’s comments on this were added.