Department of Veterans Affairs looks to end certain abortion services for veterans

CNN

4 days ago

The US Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to end certain abortion services to veterans, rolling back a Biden-era move to expand abortion rights.
In a proposed rule filed Friday, the department said that it is seeking to revoke access to abortions and abortion counseling for veterans and the beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
'We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families,' the department said in the filing.
Under the Biden administration's rule, the department currently provides access to abortions when a pregnant veteran's life or health is at risk if their pregnancy were carried to term, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest — regardless of state laws.
The proposed rule would allow abortions in cases where 'a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term,' which, according to the filing, had been permitted even before the 2022 expansion.
The Biden-era rule was part of the administration's efforts to expand abortion access after Republican-led states pushed ahead with restrictions in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the federal right to an abortion.
The VA argued at the time that it was necessary to give veterans access to abortions, saying, 'As abortion bans come into force across the country, veterans in many States are no longer assured access to abortion services in their communities, even when those services are needed.'
But on Friday, President Donald Trump's VA slammed the Biden administration's rule, calling it federal overreach.
'The stated reason for (the expansion) was a reaction to a Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization … that itself was intended to prevent federal overreach and return to States control over the provision of abortion services,' the filing states. 'Yet, the last administration used Dobbs to do the exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported Federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to State law.'
Twenty states have banned or limited access to abortion. States where abortion is limited report higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as greater economic insecurity.
The proposed rule will now be open for public comment for 30 days starting Monday.
In his first term, Trump made good on campaign promises and appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, Trump has been keen to leave regulations over the issue to state governments.
The Trump administration has overall been quiet on the issue of abortion in his second term. However, in June, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to rescind a 2022 federal guidance to health care providers specifying that people should be able to access an abortion in the event of a medical emergency, even if state laws restrict such procedures.
CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.