Trump administration planning to roll back abortion access for veterans
The proposal would eliminate access to abortion care and counseling for U.S. military veterans through the federal government's health system, even in instances of rape, incest or to protect the health of the patient — coverage that has been available to veterans and their beneficiaries for nearly three years.
The rule change would apply to all veterans receiving care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, even those living in more than a dozen states where abortion care is legally protected and a constitutional right.
A statement accompanying the proposal says the rule change is designed to ensure the VA 'provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families.'
Three months after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion care in 2022 by overturning the landmark ruling in Roe v Wade, then-President Joe Biden allowed the VA to provide abortion services for veterans and beneficiaries on federal property, even in states where abortion was outlawed. Advocates hailed the move as a lifeline for coverage.
The rule also allowed VA physicians to discuss abortion options or referrals with patients for the first time.
However, VA officials under the Trump administration now argue that the Biden-era rule was politically motivated and 'contradicted decades of federal policy against forced taxpayer funding for abortion.'
The administration claims that the rule change will not prevent physicians from providing life-saving abortion care in cases of ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages, since other provisions within the law already mandate those protections. But the proposal also states that 'claims in the prior administration's rule that abortions throughout pregnancy are needed to save the lives of pregnant women' are 'incorrect.'
The Trump administration also claims there isn't any demand for abortion care. Roughly 100 veterans and 40 beneficiaries received abortion care through VA medical centers since the policy change, according to government data.
But the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee noted that 500,000 women veterans of reproductive age are enrolled in VA health care, with more than half of them living in states with abortion restrictions.
'We cannot let VA stop providing this care to veterans by ripping away this narrow, targeted protection,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.
There are at least 2 million women veterans in the United States, the fastest-growing group of veterans, according to the VA. As of 2024, more than half of women veterans of reproductive age lived in states that banned abortion or faced severe restrictions, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.
Last year, enrollment of women veterans in VA health care increased in every state, including significant increases in Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina — states where abortion is effectively outlawed.
The new Trump administration proposal must first go through a public comment period before becoming policy. That period is open until September 5.
Abortion rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers blasted the move as an attack on abortion access for veterans and their families.
"After veterans put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, the Trump administration is trying to rob them of their own freedoms and putting their health at risk,' according to Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which has led several high-profile legal battles defending access to abortion care.
'This administration is sending a clear message to veterans — that their health and dignity aren't worth defending,' she added. 'To devalue veterans in this way and take away life-changing health care would be unconscionable. This shows you just how extreme this administration's anti-abortion stance is — they would rather a veteran suffer severely than receive an abortion.'
Skye Perryman, president of legal advocacy group Democracy Forward and a former general counsel for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, called the rule change a 'smack in the face to those who have served our country and their loved ones, stripping pregnant women of their bodily autonomy and restricting their access to abortion.'
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said that 'Republicans don't care if your health is in danger, if you're a veteran, or if you've been raped — they want abortion outlawed everywhere, in every circumstance, for everyone.'
'This administration has shown nothing but callous disregard for veterans' lives, their health care, and their livelihoods — especially when those veterans happen to be women,' she added.
Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration of overreach and defended the Trump administration's move to 'stand up for the sanctity of life.'
'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,' according to a statement from a group of House Republicans led by House Veterans' Affairs Committee chair Mike Bost.
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