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The Department of Veterans Affairs is reinstating a near-total ban on abortion services for veterans and their families, citing a new Justice Department legal opinion that says federal law largely prohibits the agency from providing abortions.
The change follows a memo issued last week by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which concluded that the VA is not legally authorized to offer abortion services in most circumstances. The department said it is immediately complying with that interpretation.
“The Department of Justice’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately,” VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz told CBS News. “DOJ’s opinion is consistent with VA’s proposed rule, which continues to work its way through the regulatory process.”
The move reverses a 2022 policy change under the Biden administration that expanded access to abortion care within the VA system. That change allowed abortions when a pregnancy endangered the life or health of a pregnant veteran, or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
Under the newly proposed rule, the VA would reinstate what it describes as “the full exclusion on abortions and abortion counseling from the medical benefits package.”
Limited life-saving exception retained
The proposed rule preserves a narrow exception for life-threatening medical emergencies, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages — care the VA says it has long covered.
The rule clarifies that the abortion exclusion does not apply “when a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.”
VA officials emphasized that this exception reflects longstanding policy and is not intended to restrict emergency medical treatment.
Democrats condemn rollback
Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the decision, arguing it strips veterans of reproductive health care access, including survivors of military sexual trauma.
“This is yet another attack on reproductive freedom and a profound betrayal of veterans who put their lives on the line for our country,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said in a post on X.
Rep. Judy Chu of California called the move “cruel, dangerous, and an insult to all who have served,” saying it denies veterans “the freedom to make their own health care decisions.”
VA disputes legal authority for abortion access
In its proposed rule, the VA asserts that it is “without question” authorized to bar abortion services from its medical benefits package, arguing that the Biden administration’s 2022 policy exceeded statutory limits.
The VA said the expansion was implemented following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and that officials anticipated increased demand for abortion services that “never materialized.”
The department also argues that the law governing VA medical benefits does not permit abortion care outside narrowly defined life-saving circumstances.
Advocacy groups warn of nationwide impact
Reproductive rights advocates say the policy effectively amounts to a nationwide abortion ban for veterans and their families, regardless of state laws.
“The policy is effectively a national abortion ban for veterans, preventing them and their families from receiving abortions at VA health care facilities in all 50 states,” the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a statement, including in states where abortion remains legal.
The proposed rule is still moving through the federal regulatory process, but the VA said it is already enforcing the restrictions based on the Justice Department’s legal guidance.
