Washington Post claims US military spends more on Viagra than they would on transgender surgeries

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Torren Farg, 20th Medical Support Squadron pharmacy technician, looks through aisles of medication at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., March 29, 2017. The Shaw Exchange pharmacy serves approximately 33,000 patients including service members, retirees and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Destinee Sweeney)

President Donald J. Trump unconventionally announced an all-out ban of transgender personnel in military service this morning via Twitter, and the Washington Post’s hard rebuttal is already looking a bit soft.

In an article titled “The military spends five times as much on Viagra as it would on transgender troops’ medical care,” Washington Post writer Christopher Ingraham claimed that (in a matter-of-fact way) the US military spends considerably more on generic variants of the little blue pill than it would have to spend on the sliver of a percentage that would encompass transgender troops looking to have their bodies match their preferred gender.

However, there are a few fallacies in the argument once it is broken down (beyond misleading numbers and cherry-picked statistics), particularly when it comes to matters of transgender service, eligibility, pre-existing conditions and workplace-related injuries.

First, let’s discuss eligibility and pre-existing conditions. Considering the fact that “Gender Dysphoria” is still considered a mental disorder, banning personnel with a mental disorder from service is not too far out of left field for any organization whose primary focus is ensuring mentally able warfighters. While some transgender personnel would argue that they could have become transgender during their term of service, the numbers of transgender personnel are so low that it would seem the best course of action would be treatment post-discharge.

However, that *generally* would make Gender Dysphoria a pre-existing condition for most transgender civilians looking to serve in the military. You can’t insure the part of your house that has already burned down, you can’t get full coverage on a car that you have already driven into a wall. Why should Tricare and DoD medical be forced to bend in the other direction?

Second, the effects of service-connected Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression -as well as the medications that treat them- often cause a decrease in libido, which affects both the warfighter and his family. Since his injury is most often obtained during service, it is DoD’s job to compensate accordingly, as the servicemember has, much in the same way Ambien is issued to combat insomnia from similar issues. Considering the morale of the warfighter (and his significant other) directly affects his performance, it would be criminal to deny troopers their dues for injuries sustained, visible or otherwise.

Lastly, Ingraham failed to mention that  Viagra and other ED drugs often used just as frequently to treat pulmonary hypertension, high altitude issues and stave off the effects of pulmonary edema, also known as “wet lung.”  Essentially, Viagra works as an agent that relaxes the blood vessels in the lungs (increasing thin airflow and decreasing the possibility of the lungs’ blood vessels bursting), a crucial leg up for personnel working at high altitude, to include those fighting in mountainous regions.

In fact, Viagra (Sildenafil) is also marketed as Revatio, which is branded as a solution for these serious medical issues.

While the reversal of an Obama-era ban lifting on transgender troops is controversial, the matter of Viagra being a higher expense for the DoD as opposed to gender reassignment procedures isn’t part of the controversy. If anything it is a grasp for whatever can be pulled from government reports to justify outrage, like trying to grab a dandelion growing out of a cliff as you attempt to climb to the top.

Considering the low sub-percentage of transgender troops in the military and high suicide rates of transgender individuals, the new action may be little more than a preventative measure against pre-existing mental illness in new recruits. It may instead be something more indicative of the top brass’ personal opinion on the subject. However, there is a very real and very logical way to discuss such matters- in this case, the Washington Post just couldn’t get that straight.

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