Dec. 23 (UPI) — The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday enacted a nearly total ban on performing abortions for veterans and their families, including in cases of rape or incest.
The ban came in the form of an internal department memo reflecting recent Department of Justice legal guidance that concluded that federal law does not allow the VA to broadly provide abortion services.
The ban reverses a Biden-era policy from 2022 intended to ensure veterans and their dependents could access abortion services in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down national reproductive rights.
It also effectively accelerates the outcome of a rules change proposed by the Trump administration in August that would revoke most abortion access at VA facilities.
House Democrats criticized the move in a statement, calling it a “cruel and dangerous move” that the Trump administration enacted under the “cover of the holiday season.”
“Instead of trusting veterans to make the healthcare decisions that are best for them, VA is allowing political opinion to supplant its duty to veterans,” Mark Takano, a California Democrat and ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
“Instead of allowing veterans to discuss all their healthcare options openly and honestly with their providers, VA has decided that the government should be in charge of making healthcare decisions, even in matters of life and death.”
VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told The Hill in a statement that the department’s ban brings it into compliance with the DOJ opinion issued on Dec. 18.
“DOJ’s opinion is consistent with VA’s proposed rule, which continues to work its way through the regulatory process,” Kasperowicz added.
The opinion reverses legal guidance under the Biden administration that supported what it called the “unprecedented conclusion” that the VA could “provide taxpayer- funded abortions for any reason and at any stage of pregnancy.”
Under the opinion, abortion services in cases of rape and incest would not be covered. However, it allows an exception for when pregnancies threaten the life of the mother.