Trump administration bans US veterans agency from providing abortions | Trump administration
The Department of Veterans Affairs can no longer provide abortions to veterans, including in cases of rape or incest, following a Justice Department memo that concluded last week that the practice was not legally valid.
The ban follows months of efforts by the Trump administration to roll back a Biden-era policy that for the first time allowed VA. advising veterans and their families about abortion, as well as offering this procedure in cases of rape or incest, or when a veteran’s pregnancy endangers their health. In August, the administration filed papers to formally reverse the policy, which had helped the VA’s network of more than 1,300 health care facilities — which treat nearly 10 million veterans each year — expand access to abortion, particularly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022.
These documents are still being worked through the lengthy rulemaking process, a VA spokesperson confirmed.
“The DOJ notice states that VA is not legally authorized to perform abortions, and VA is complying immediately,” Peter Kasperowicz, VA press secretary, said in an emailed statement. “The DOJ’s opinion is consistent with VA’s proposed rule.”
Screenshots obtained by advocacy group What appears to be an internal VA memo, circulated Dec. 22 among leaders of the VA’s regional care networks, states that the changes “do not prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances,” including in cases of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or when “the veteran’s clinician determines…the care necessary to save a veteran’s life.”
A VA spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the screenshot or veterans’ ability to obtain abortions in medical emergencies.
“Denying veterans access to essential health care and abortion – even in cases of rape or serious health risk – after they have sacrificed so much for our country is callous and inhumane,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward, said in a statement. Democracy Forward obtained and published the screenshot of the memo.
More than a dozen states have banned virtually all abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. By 2024, more than half of female veterans live in states that ban abortion or are likely to do so, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.
News of the VA’s abortion ban was first reported by MS Now.
