(The Hill) — On Friday, the Trump administration repealed a Biden-era abortion mandate that had permitted veterans to obtain abortion services under their healthcare plan.
The Department of Veteran Affairs is overturning a 2022 regulation that granted access to abortion counseling and procedures for certain pregnant veterans, as well as VA beneficiaries.
“We are taking this step to ensure that the VA delivers solely essential medical services to our nation’s heroes and their families,” the Department expressed in an announcement prepared for the Federal Register.
Officials said they were seeking to ensure taxpayer dollars weren’t used to provide pregnancy terminations.
“Legally, it is unequivocal that the VA holds the authority to restrict the provision of abortion services through the VA medical benefits package to veterans,” the announcement stated.
“From 1999 until 2022 that is in fact what VA did. It was not until 2022 when the VA Secretary reversed this course,” they added.
The department clarified that they would not deny abortion care to pregnant women when facing life-threatening situations, including those involving ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.
GOP lawmakers lauded the move slamming the Biden administration for previous changes.
“It was improper for the Biden administration to flout established law in 2022 by starting to provide abortion services via the VA. We’ve been firmly opposing this detrimental policy for the past two years to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable and safeguard the lives of the unborn,” said a Friday statement from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (Ill.) and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Morgan Luttrell (Texas), Derrick Van Orden (Wis.), Keith Self (Texas), and Tom Barrett (Mich.).
“It’s simple – taxpayers do not want their hard-earned money spent on paying for abortions – and VA’s sole focus should always be providing service-connected health care and benefits to the veterans they serve,” they added.
However, others said the shift in policy will harm servicemembers and their families following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating the constitutional right to abortions.
Katie O’Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center, said the effort was a “direct attack” on those who have served our country.
“At a time when extremist lawmakers are passing cruel abortion bans and restrictions, this move only deepens the crisis those laws have created — stripping veterans of their reproductive freedom and creating even more confusion about where they can turn for care.
“Let me be clear: abortion is health care,” O’Connor said in a Friday statement.
“Veterans already face unique challenges to their health and well-being, including experiencing PTSD, recovering from military sexual trauma, and facing an increased risk of suicide. Banning access to the full range of reproductive services, including abortion, further jeopardizes their health and safety. No one should have to travel hundreds of miles, endure financial hardship, or risk their health just to get the medical care they need. Our veterans deserve better,” she added.
