An advocacy group has filed suit against the Trump administration over its decision to reinstate a near-ban on for veterans and their family members who depend on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for healthcare.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday says finalized by the VA on Dec. 31 takes away limited abortion access that was 鈥渃rucial for the health, autonomy, and equality of veterans and their family members.鈥�
Attorneys for the group Minority Veterans of America want the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to throw out the rule. They say the VA adopted the change without citing medical evidence or other justifications, violating the Administrative Procedures Act that governs federal rulemaking.
The VA did not include abortion in its coverage President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration added it months after the U.S. Supreme Court and states’ abortion bans began taking effect.
Abortion access the VA provided under Biden was limited, applying only in cases when a pregnant woman鈥檚 life or health was at risk, or in cases of rape or incest.
The Biden change allowed the VA to provide abortion even in states where it was banned. And it brought the VA鈥檚 coverage into line with other federal healthcare plans 鈥� including Medicaid and TriCare coverage for active military members and their families 鈥� that allowed limited abortion access.
The VA announced its proposal to undo those changes last August, a few months after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The VA had said it will still provide abortions in cases where a pregnant woman’s life is threatened. That’s something state laws allow, even in places where bans are in place.
However, the VA no longer allows exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest or to protect a pregnant woman’s health. Abortion counseling is also no longer allowed.
A VA spokesperson declined to comment, noting the agency typically doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Minority Veterans of America says it represents more than 3,600 members across the U.S.
鈥淥ur community includes veterans with complex medical histories, those who have experienced pregnancy complications, and survivors of sexual violence and trauma, all of whom need access to abortion care and counseling to protect their health,” Lindsay Church, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
In publishing its final rule in December, the VA said it was restoring the agency’s longstanding position that abortions were not 鈥渘eeded鈥� under federal law and that 鈥渢his determination did not prohibit providing life-saving care to pregnant veterans.鈥�
The lawsuit says one of Minority Veteran of America’s members is a military veteran who just learned she was pregnant in early May. She suffers from chronic pain that has been exacerbated by the pregnancy, placing her health 鈥渁t substantial risk,鈥� says the lawsuit, which withheld the woman’s name to protect her privacy.
The lawsuit says the VA won’t allow the unnamed veteran to receive an abortion 鈥渆ven if her health is at risk, unless a provider determines an abortion is necessary to save her life.鈥�
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
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