The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been ordered to cease providing abortion services to veterans, a move that includes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. The immediate ban follows a legal opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) which concluded the procedure was not legally authorised for the federal agency.
Rollback of Biden-Era Policy
This decision effectively dismantles a policy established under President Biden, which had, for the first time, allowed the VA to offer abortion counselling and the procedure itself in cases of rape, incest, or when a pregnancy threatened the veteran's health. The Trump administration had been working to formally rescind this rule since August 2024, initiating a lengthy regulatory process that is still ongoing.
Peter Kasperowicz, the VA press secretary, confirmed the agency's compliance in a statement, saying, "DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately." He added that the opinion aligns with the VA's own proposed rule change.
Internal Memo Reveals Limited Life-Threatening Care Allowance
An internal VA memo, circulated on 22 December and obtained by the non-profit legal group Democracy Forward, provided some clarification on the ban's limits. Screenshots indicate the changes do not prohibit care for pregnant veterans in life-threatening situations. This includes managing miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, or other scenarios where a clinician determines intervention is necessary to save the veteran's life.
However, the memo and subsequent communications did not explicitly address access to abortion in other medical emergencies that may not be immediately life-threatening. A VA spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow-up questions on this critical distinction.
Impact on Millions of Veterans
The policy shift has profound implications for the nearly 10 million veterans treated each year across the VA's vast network of over 1,300 healthcare facilities. Skye Perryman, President of Democracy Forward, condemned the action, stating, "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."
The ban's impact is exacerbated by the landscape following the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade. More than a dozen US states have since enacted near-total abortion bans. According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, as of 2024, more than half of all female veterans reside in states that ban or are likely to ban abortion, making the VA's services a critical lifeline that has now been severed for many.
The news was first reported by the outlet MS Now, highlighting a significant rollback of reproductive healthcare access for those who have served in the US military.
