The Trump administration has implemented a near-total ban on abortion and abortion counseling at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities across the nation.
The policy move not only affects veterans but also the families of eligible veterans covered by the VA’s federal health care plan for civilians, the department said in a Dec. 22 memorandum announcing the restrictions. “Effective immediately, VA will no longer provide abortion or abortion counseling.”
No exceptions are made for of rape or incest, but abortion may be used in the case of life-threatening pregnancies, the directive explains. “The exclusion on abortion does not bar care necessary to save a veteran’s life when a veteran’s clinician determines that the care is necessary to save the veteran’s life, even if this requires an intervention that would end the pregnancy.”
The rule also provides “reasonable accommodations” to VA employees who do not want to provide abortion care due to religious or moral beliefs.
The agency said it implemented the changes to comply with a Dec. 18 Department of Justice opinion overturning the Biden-era VA policy implemented in response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending federal protections for abortion.
Critics denounced not only the severity of the new restrictions but also the secretive manner in which they were implemented.
Alexis McGill Johnson
“To attack the freedoms of those who have risked their lives defending our own is an egregious assault on fundamental rights,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “This abortion ban makes it clear the Trump administration will always choose its dangerous political agenda, even if the cost is veterans and their families’ access to essential care.”
The more restrictive ban is harsher than any imposed in the health care plans of other federal agencies, according to Democracy Forward, a nonprofit legal organization that assisted Minority Veterans of America in submitting a formal complaint about the rule.
The VA action reduces veterans to “second class” status by denying them the same access to abortion afforded to active duty personnel, Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said. “Denying veterans essential health care and abortion access — even in cases of rape or serious health risk — after they have sacrificed so much for our country is callous and inhumane.”
Fatima Goss Graves
Denying abortion access to veterans signifies the widening of Trump’s anti-abortion crusade that may well target state agencies next, said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center. “No one is safe from their anti-abortion crusade, not even our nation’s veterans. After the sacrifices that our veterans have made to serve our country, the least that they deserve is comprehensive health care.”
Lindsay Church, the organization’s executive director, said the rule ignores the special challenges that make abortion access vital to some women who served in uniform.
“Veterans face unique challenges that make it critical for us to be able to access abortion care, including possible exposure to toxic chemicals, waiting to start a family until after our service, and experiencing sexual assault. Abortion should not be a political issue — it is necessary, life-saving medical care and denying this care will put veterans and their loved ones’ lives in danger.”