House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Julia Brownley Introduces Joint Resolution of Disapproval to Overturn Dangerous VA Abortion Rule

WASHINGTON— Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), to formally overturn the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) recently finalized abortion rule.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) co-led the resolution. All Democratic membersserving on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, including Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01), Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Rep. Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Rep. Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), Rep. Herb Conaway, M.D. (NJ-03), and Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-03), are original cosponsors of the resolution. The Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), and the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Representatives Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), are also original cosponsors of the resolution. This effort is also supported by several veterans’ service organizations and a coalition of organizations supporting reproductive freedom.

On December 31, 2025, the Trump administration published a final rule in the Federal Register, effectively ending abortion access at VA, except in very limited life-threatening circumstances. The rule, first proposed in August of 2025, rescinds aBiden-era VA reproductive healthcare regulation that provided veterans access to abortion care in instances of rape, incest, and threat to life or health, and that allowed VA providers to discuss abortion with patients who were experiencing unwanted or high-risk pregnancies and pregnancy complications.

Democrats immediately fought back, with more than 230 Members of Congress joining a September 2, 2025, public comment letter led by Ranking Member Mark Takano and Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Despite this comment letter and the thousands of other public comments submitted in opposition to the proposed rule, VA moved forward without making changes to reflect the concerns of veteran stakeholders, the public, and their elected representatives.

In addition to finalizing its proposed rule, in December 2025 VA also issued an internal memo reinstating a near-total ban on abortions and abortion counseling, with no exceptions in the case of rape, incest, or threat to health. The memo was effective immediately, thereby circumventing the standard 30-day delayed implementation period in the rulemaking process.

The Congressional Review Act is a law that enables Congress to overturn agency regulations. If the joint resolution of disapproval is approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by the president (or if Congress overrides a presidential veto), the rule covered by the legislation cannot go into effect or continue to be in effect.

“The Trump administration’s extreme abortion ban puts veterans at risk and prevents doctors from providing the care their patients need,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health. “House Democrats believe veterans deserve compassionate, comprehensive health care and honest conversations with their doctors — free from political interference. That is why I am leading my Democratic colleagues in introducing this resolution to make clear that this dangerous policy cannot stand. Veterans who survive rape or incest deserve care, not barriers, and doctors should never be silenced when patients are seeking medical guidance. The VA must deliver consistent, comprehensive care to all veterans — guided by medical need and science, not extremist and dangerous ideology.”

“VA’s rule leaves veterans with less access to abortion care than individuals covered by every other federal healthcare program, including the Bureau of Prisons, which covers this essential care in instances of rape, incest, and threat to life,” said Ranking Member Takano (CA-39) of the VA abortion rule. “Veterans fought for our freedoms, and now this administration is stripping them of their freedoms. We trusted them to carry out the missions of our country, but VA no longer trusts them to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. My fellow Democrats and I will not stand by as VA undoes the critical progress we made during the last administration. I thank Congresswoman Brownley for her leadership on this joint resolution of disapproval.”

“Trump’s Department of Veterans Affairs is ripping abortion care away from our servicewomen. The Trump administration is imposing their own religious views on women veterans who were willing to make the greatest sacrifice to serve our country,” said Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03). “Remember, reproductive health care is essential to keep women alive during difficult pregnancies, to allow the termination of a pregnancy following rape, and to allow women the freedom to determine how and when to have a family—in essence to give women veterans the freedoms that they were willing to fight for to preserve for our country.”

“Those who fought for our freedoms abroad deserve to have their freedoms respected and needs met at home. Yet, as families across the nation gathered for the holidays, this administration mounted a targeted attack on those veterans,” said Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “That was their gift from this President: a dangerous abortion ban, issued quietly overnight. Veterans and their families, not politicians, should be the ones making medical decisions about their bodies and futures. We say no to this abortion ban. We say no to compromising the quality of VA health care in the name of political extremism. And we say no to this sham of a rule.”

“The VA exists to serve all who served, including women in need of abortion counseling in extenuating circumstances,” said Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “With nearly 70% of our members overwhelmingly supporting women veterans’ access to care post-Dobbs, IAVA applauds the CRA action taken in both the House and Senate, which would ensure that timely and necessary care is continued.”

“With the stroke of a pen, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) increased the risk of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity by reducing veterans’ access to basic, necessary, and life-saving reproductive health care. The removal of abortion care and counseling places veterans at further risk, particularly women and gender-diverse veterans who have already sacrificed their health in service to this country. These actions are not merely administrative or ideological policy shifts; they are dangerous barriers to essential medical care,” said Lindsay Church, Executive Director of Minority Veterans of America. “To uphold its mission to serve those who have served, the VA must withdraw this policy. Abortion care and counseling are not simply about choice, they are matters of health, human rights, and survival. Preserving access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care is essential to honoring the service, sacrifices, and dignity of women and minority veterans.”

“Veterans were promised care, dignity, and respect when they raised their right hand to serve. This decision breaks that promise. Stripping veterans of access to abortion care and even basic medical counseling is cruel, medically dangerous, and fundamentally dishonest. Veterans, especially women veterans, face higher rates of complicated and high-risk pregnancies because of their service. Denying them full, evidence-based reproductive healthcare is not about protecting life, it is about imposing ideology at the expense of veterans’ health and autonomy. The VA exists to serve veterans, not to make their most personal medical decisions for them,” said Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs banning reproductive healthcare is a profound betrayal of those who have sacrificed for our country. By eliminating comprehensive healthcare access, that veterans have earned, this ban disregards the overwhelming public opposition demonstrated by thousands of comments, many made by Common Defense members. It’s essential that Congress overturn this ban and prioritize the health and well-being of our veterans. Our service members deserve better than this callous erosion of their rights,” said Naveed Shah, Political Director of Common Defense, a membership organization of progressive US military veterans.

The joint resolution of disapproval is also endorsed by 12 organizations dedicated to protecting the rights and freedoms of our nation's veterans, including the Modern Military Association of America, Service Women’s Action Network, American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Center for Reproductive Rights, Guttmacher Institute, National Council of Jewish Women, National Women's Law Center Action Fund, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Power to Decide, Reproductive Freedom for All, and the National Partnership for Women & Families.

"After all that veterans have sacrificed to defend our freedoms, it is appalling to strip them of the right to make their own health care decisions," said the group of endorsers in a joint statement. “We applaud every lawmaker who signed on to this resolution condemning the rule to ban abortion care and counseling at the VA, including in cases of rape or incest, and we urge both chambers to act swiftly to overturn this extreme policy that puts veterans’ health and safety at risk.”

Disabled American Veterans has also endorsed the joint resolution of disapproval.

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