Takano, Blumenthal, & Colleagues Oppose Trump VA’s Proposed Rule to Reinstate Extreme Near-Total Abortion Ban for Veterans

WASHINGTON— House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led 229 of their colleagues in submitting a public comment letter in strong opposition to the Trump Administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposed rule to reinstate a near-total ban on abortions and abortion counseling, including for veterans who have been raped or whose pregnancy is threatening their health.

“This incredibly dangerous and reckless rule change will take away essential health care for veterans and beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA),” the lawmakers wrote in their public comment letter responding to the proposed rule.“For the past three years, these patients have been able to obtain comprehensive pregnancy counseling, including information about abortion services, and abortion care in cases of rape, incest, or life or health endangerment. This proposed rule seriously calls into question whether the Department is putting political allegiances and culture wars ahead of its sacred obligation to deliver quality, life-saving health care to veterans, including the more than 462,000 women veterans of reproductive age enrolled in VA health care.”

In September 2022, VA began to offer abortion counseling to all pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries, and abortion in cases of rape, incest, or if the life or health of the veteran or CHAMPVA beneficiary was at risk. This was in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, creating urgent risks to the lives and health of pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries in states that have banned or otherwise severely restricted access to abortion.

The lawmakers slammed VA’s rule for stripping the Department’s ability to provide essential health care in harrowing situations: “Evidence has shown that extreme abortion bans, like the ban this rule would create, cause chaos and confusion for providers, putting them in the impossible position of navigating laws that don’t allow them to deliver the appropriate standard of care to ailing patients. Worse, such a ban would also be extremely dangerous to the health and well-being of veterans. As we have seen in states with extreme abortion bans, even those with ‘life exceptions’ in place, patients have faced severe health complications and even death in cases when providers did not know if the patient’s life was endangered enough to be covered under this exception.”

The lawmakers also criticized the Department’s assertion that abortion is an unnecessary service for veterans, detailing the unique service-connected conditions veterans may have that increase the risks associated with pregnancy:“…[W]e find the Department’s claim that ‘abortion is not a ‘needed’ service for veterans’ to be insulting and ignorant. Veterans of reproductive age have high rates of chronic health conditions – many of which may be service-connected, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe hypertension, and renal disease – that can increase the risks associated with a pregnancy. If a provider determines these conditions or others make an abortion necessary to preserve a veteran or CHAMPVA beneficiary’s health, access to abortion should be considered essential health care. In addition, veterans who are forced to carry to term pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are at risk of long-lasting psychological conditions and traumatic stress, making abortion access for these veterans needed for protecting their health.”

The Senators concluded their letter by demanding VA reverse this rule on behalf of veterans and their families: “The concerns we raise about this cruel proposal to roll back essential health care for veterans are not ours alone – they are shared by veterans and their families nationwide…Since the Dobbs decision, more than half of women veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries of reproductive age live in states that have enacted abortion bans or restrictions. Should their health be in jeopardy due to a pregnancy, or if they are raped, this rule will leave them with nowhere to turn. To finalize this rule will be a failure for our veterans, and we urge the Department to reconsider.”

The letter was signed by 231 lawmakers, including 42 Senators and 189 Representatives.

The full text of the lawmakers’ letter is available here.

Ranking Members Takano and Blumenthal hosted a press conference earlier today, urging others to weigh in before the comment period closes at midnight tonight.

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet