The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has introduced new guidelines permitting healthcare professionals to refuse treatment based on marital status or political beliefs, following an executive order by President Trump. This marks a significant shift from previous bylaws that prohibited such discrimination. Critics, including former VA officials, argue this could enable discriminatory practices against vulnerable patients, as the changes apply across various roles within the VA medical centers. The new rules may particularly affect veterans and military families, prompting protests against perceived injustices in their care.
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. "Previously VA hospitals' bylaws said that medical staff could not discriminate on patients based on race, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, or disability in any employment matter."
The new guidelines 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.
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