Transgender veterans barred from fertility treatment under new rules

Transgender veterans eligible for Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health benefits will no longer receive financial coverage for egg- and sperm-freezing fertility treatments, new guidance shows.

According to a leaked email from a person at the VA’s Women Veterans Health Care department, transgender veterans preparing for gender dysphoria treatment and seeking cryopreservation—the process in which eggs or sperm (gametes) are frozen and stored to be thawed for later use—will no longer see the costs of this process covered by the department. Treatment for gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder can affect an individual’s ovaries or testes and thus fertility. Individuals sometimes freeze their eggs to mitigate against this prior to treatment.

The email indicates a shift from previous policy. As it stands, everyone eligible for VA health care benefits (i.e. those who previously served in the military, navy or air service) can access these fertility preservation treatments, including transgender veterans, according to a Women Veterans Health Care document, published in October 2023. There are more than 134,000 transgender veterans in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute, a research center at UCLA School of Law that focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Newsweek contacted the VA by email to comment.

Since taking office for the second time, President Donald Trump has made a plethora of actions regarding transgender people, including signing an executive order stating that there are only two unchangeable sexes and another attempting to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports. He also signed an order aimed at restricting access to puberty blockers and other gender care for people under age 19. Some of the actions have sparked ongoing legal challenges.

On February 18, he also signed an executive order expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and making it more affordable for patients. While IVF does not always require cryopreservation, it is often used to store excess embryos or to enable people to delay embryo transfer until a time of their choosing. The White House directed Newsweek to the VA after a request for comment.

In the VA specifically, in March it was announced that the department was phasing out treatment for gender dysphoria in response to Trump’s executive order recognizing two sexes. The VA said trans veterans would still continue to receive VA health care.

The VA email, viewed by Newsweek said: “On yesterday’s (6/16/2025) National Fertility Interdisciplinary Teams Office Hours call, it was announced that VA will no longer pay for cryopreservation of gametes for a medical indication if it involves transgender veterans seeking cryopreservation in preparation for treatment of Gender Dysphoria or Gender Identity Disorder. This will reportedly affect new authorizations and will not disrupt cryopreservation that has already been initiated.”

It added that according to another senior official in the Veterans Health Administration “the change is reportedly already in effect and an official announcement will be forthcoming” and advised the department to “hold on authorizing any new cryopreservation for medical indications related to gender dysphoria/gender identity disorder” while waiting for further guidance.

“We want to avoid a situation where veterans could be told they are approved for cryo, only to find out after the fact that VA cannot pay for care they received,” the email read.

Newsweek chose not to name the person who sent the email as well as the senior official named in the correspondence to protect their privacy.

According to the October 2023 Women Veterans Health Care document, fertility preservation of eggs and sperm, but not embryos, is covered by the VA for medical reasons.

“If your VA health care provider determines there is a medical indication, VA can cover the cost of retrieving and freezing your eggs or sperm to preserve your fertility preservation,” it said.

It listed examples of medical indications that would be covered, including “veterans who are undergoing gender-affirming care that can affect their ovaries or testes.”

Roz Keith, the founder and executive director of the Michigan-based transgender charity Stand With Trans, said the policy was “discrimination.”

“Clearly, the rights of the trans community are the target of attack,” she told Newsweek. “It doesn’t matter whether someone is an adult, a minor, a veteran, a professional, or other, if one is trans identified, they are seeing rights being taken away one by one. It is deplorable. If one class of people can receive treatment paid for with their benefits, then other classes of people should receive the same. This is why we have the equal protection clause in our Constitution.

“No one should be excluded from a particular treatment because they are transgender. This is the very definition of discrimination.”