(The Lion) The Trump administration is reversing a Biden-era rule that allowed veterans to get abortions through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA announced last week it will no longer offer abortions or abortion counseling as part of its medical benefits package. The move undoes a 2022 policy change made under President Biden giving some pregnant veterans access to taxpayer-funded abortions.
“We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation’s heroes and their families,” the department wrote in a release for the Federal Register.
The Trump administration said its goal is to prevent taxpayer dollars from going toward abortions.
“As a matter of law, it is without question that VA has the authority to bar provision of abortion services through the VA medical benefits package to veterans,” the statement continued. “From 1999 until 2022 that is in fact what VA did. It was not until 2022 when the VA Secretary reversed this course.”
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The department clarified veterans can still receive treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages.
Congressional Republicans applauded the rollback, arguing the Biden administration never should have made the change in the first place.
“It was wrong that the Biden administration violated settled law in 2022 and began offering abortion services through VA,” read a joint statement from six Republicans who serve on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
“We pushed back hard on this disastrous policy over the last two years to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable and protect the lives of the unborn,” they continued. “It’s simple – 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.”
Tweet This: The VA will no longer offer abortions or abortion counseling in its medical benefits package, undoing a policy change made under Biden.
Pro-abortion advocates criticized the move, saying it strips veterans of what they call reproductive freedom. “Let me be clear: abortion is health care,” said Katie O’Connor of the National Women’s Law Center, calling the decision a “direct attack” on veterans.
However, pro-life advocates argue ending innocent lives is not health care — and most Americans don’t want to fund abortions.
A January 2021 Marist poll sponsored by the Knights of Columbus found 58% of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions in the United States; the poll also found 77% oppose their tax dollars funding abortion internationally.
Editor's note: This article was published by The Lion and is reprinted with permission.
