Testimony Concerning S.J. No. 35

Government Administration and Elections Committee

February 7, 2025

Senator Flexer, Rep. Blumenthal, Senator Sampson, Rep. Mastrofrancesco, and members of the Government Administration and Elections Committee:

My name is Chelsea Donaldson, and I am the Supervising Attorney of the Veterans Benefits and Military Unit of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC).  I am a practicing attorney and licensed master social worker through the State of Connecticut.  I am also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I am proud to represent LGBTQ+ veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

On behalf of my colleagues at CVLC, my clients, and my community, I write in support of S.J. No. 35, a “Resolution Proposing A State Constitutional Amendment Concerning Discrimination On The Basis Of Sex Under The Equal Protection Clause.”

CVLC provides free legal assistance to low-income Veterans living in Connecticut. Our mission is to support, empower, and improve the lives of Veterans by providing free legal assistance to remove barriers to housing, healthcare, income, and recovery. We are part of a medical-legal partnership with the Veterans Healthcare Administration, meaning that we work with healthcare providers to address those legal challenges that impede healing. For example, the prospect of homelessness can adversely affect the mental health of a veteran suffering from PTSD.

In my work, I often connect veterans who are not currently receiving care from the VA with access to health care. Many of these same veterans suffer from military sexual trauma because of their sexual preference or gender identity.  We receive asks from LGBTQ+ veterans who were wrongfully discharged due to their sexual orientation under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell on how to access the benefits they have earned.  We have been extraordinarily successful in obtaining access to care for these veterans, which includes gender-affirming services from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Unfortunately, that soon stands to change.

It is no secret that the current administration’s agenda^[1] includes disenfranchising LGBTQ+ people from the compassionate care and equity that they have enjoyed for the last handful of decades. My fear is that this discrimination against my community will extend to VA Healthcare^[2], where many of my LGBTQ+ clients receive life-changing, compassionate care from clinicians that they trust.

Currently, veterans can receive a plethora of gender-affirming services from VA Healthcare—including hormone replacement therapy (testosterone and estrogen) and gender-affirming clothing (binders, packers, etc.).^[3] From research and based on my own observations, veterans who need gender-affirming care and do not receive it are at a greater risk of suicide.^[4] However, the current services provided are almost certain to change as the current administration continues to make clear that the federal system will not continue to care for LGBTQ+ citizens.  As VA Healthcare is under the purview of the federal executive branch, it is only a matter of time before LGBTQ+ veterans are unable to receive the care they need.  Trans veterans will need to access affordable healthcare with or without the executive branch; Connecticut must be here to not only offer that care, but ensure that they have the right to access that care regardless of their gender expression.

It is also important to note that the state system is an essential resource for veterans who are not eligible for VA Healthcare.  We proudly represent veterans regardless of their status of discharge, which is crucially important as it pertains to the LGBTQ+ community.  CVLC represents quite a few veterans who have been unlawfully separated and granted bad paper discharges due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Without full access to VA Healthcare, these veterans rely on state services in order to receive the care that they need.  Many of my trans clients receive gender-affirming care from the community, as they are not eligible for full VA services due to time served, bad paper, or another roadblock in full access to the country’s largest nationalized healthcare system.  It is important to ensure that these veterans maintain continuous care in the face of unprecedented discriminatory legislation across the country targeting this marginalized population.

Through my time at CVLC, I have represented many trans veterans who have reaped the rewards of being able to access compassionate care.  These stories represent the exact population of people who will be positively impacted by the proposed amendment to the Constitution.

One veteran was sexually assaulted in the service due to her perceived homosexuality and lived for decades with the shame and trauma of the incident.  Once she was able to access mental health treatment, she was able to live authentically and transition.  She receives hormone replacement therapy at VA and is extraordinarily worried that she will not be able to receive this treatment at her federal facility for much longer.  Her suicidality has reduced significantly due to being able to receive her medication and gender-affirming care.  Without it, she fears she will not be able to “pass.”

Another veteran served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  She witnessed multiple comrades die due to combat related injuries, and she herself has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result.  She remained closeted during her service, as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was still in effect and she was concerned for her safety.  This, in addition to her combat-related PTSD, caused her to attempt suicide multiple times before landing at the VA.  Thanks to being able to access intensive mental health treatment and the gender-affirming care she required, she is now stable, happy, and married to the love of her life.  Without being able to access her gender-affirming treatment, she is worried that she will not recognize herself when she looks in the mirror.

These veterans are not “less than” because they express their gender identity outside of what is considered the “normal binary” that the current administration is attempting to enforce.  They served their country, suffered egregious wounds of war as a result, and are finally able to live their truth thanks to the care they receive.  With the very real fear of that care disappearing at VA, they must find the same exceptional care within the civilian community without fear of being ostracized or threatened due to their gender identity.  These women deserve the same exact treatment I get whenever I visit the doctor’s office – accepted without question, treated without bias, and cared for with compassion and understanding.

While the federal system is currently failing LGBTQ+ people, the state system has the moral obligation to assist these people.  These Connecticut citizens include veterans who have served our country – from combat medics in Kabul to truck mechanics in Vietnam, our veterans deserve the very best services that they can receive.  Connecticut can, and should, provide these services.  By amending the Constitution to include explicit protections for people regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation, Connecticut will continue to be a sanctuary for those who need it.

Respectfully submitted,

Chelsea Donaldson, Esq., L.M.S.W.
Supervising Attorney
Veterans Benefits and Military Unit
Connecticut Veterans Legal Center

^[1] Nirrapil, Fenit, Trans health, research programs ordered to stop by Trump administration, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/02/04/trump-order-transgender-health-research-programs

^[2] “While the Department of Veterans Affairs has not publicly announced any formal guidance on how it will implement President Donald Trump’s order to eliminate all federal policies that are supportive of transgender people, gender identities are already being scrubbed from patient records[.]” Kheel, Rebecca, How Trump’s Moves to End Protections for Transgender People Could Hurt Veterans Health Care, Military.com, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/02/05/how-trumps-moves-end-protections-transgender-people-could-hurt-veterans-health-care.html

^[3] VA provides gender-affirming hormone therapy, fertility preservation/family planning/lactation support, voice/communication training, medically necessary hair removal, gender-affirming prosthetics, and letters of support for gender-affirming surgery (which the VA does not provide).  While VA does not perform gender-affirming surgery, they do provide surgical care for long term complications of said surgeries, including revision surgeries; gonadectomies for veterans who cannot tolerate prescription hormones, and needed surgeries for other medical indications (such as cancer) that may also be consistent with the veteran’s gender affirmation goals.  See Pride in Serving: Transgender & Gender Diverse Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs, https://www.patientcare.va.gov/LGBT/docs/2024/Gender-Affirming_Care_at_VA-Providers_4-24.pdf (available as of Feb. 6, 2025).

^[4] “Researchers using primarily convenience samples have discovered that an alarming percentage (18–45%) of transgender adults and youth have attempted suicide in their lifetime, which is drastically higher than the general population (4.6%[)].” Wolford-Clevenger, Caitlin et al. Suicide Risk Among Transgender People: A Prevalent Problem in Critical Need of Empirical and Theoretical Research, Violence and gender vol. 4,3 (2017).