The Biden Administration is directly taking on Red State abortion bans as the Department of Veterans Affairs says it will begin offering some abortion services at VA hospitals in all states to some 9 million military vets and their immediate family members.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, in a historic shift, will provide abortion counseling and abortions in cases of rape, incest or if the pregnancy threatens the health of the pregnant veteran, at its federal health facilities throughout the country, including in states that ban or severely restrict the practice, the department announced Friday.
According to a draft of the rule change, the new policy overhauls health-care service provided to 9 million veterans and eligible family members; VA previously did not provide abortions of any kind or offer abortion counseling to patients considering the procedure.
There are 2 million female veterans in the United States, according to VA data, and about a quarter of them are enrolled in VA care.
“VA serves roughly 300k women of childbearing age, and women Veterans are VA’s fastest growing cohort,” VA spokesman Terrence Hayes said in an email. Once the rule is published, Hayes said VA will “immediately prepare to provide these services in as many locations as possible.”
VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement called the change “a patient safety decision.”
“Pregnant Veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve to have access to world-class reproductive care when they need it most. That’s what our nation owes them, and that’s what we at VA will deliver,” McDonough said.
Veteran advocates welcomed the change as an expansion on veterans’ health-care options.
“Increasing access to timely and quality health care for veterans should always be a top priority for the VA,” Jeremy Butler, the chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America, said in an email.
Other advocates, such as Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who sits on the Senate’s Veterans’ Affairs Committee, praised the VA change while criticizing Republican lawmakers for shaping the restrictive reproductive rights landscape many Americans now face.
“For the first time ever, the Veterans Health Administration will finally be able to provide abortion care to ensure none of our veterans or their eligible dependents will have to face medical emergencies — or stay pregnant after a rape or incest — simply because Republican politicians think they know what’s best for them,” Murray said in a statement.
It's a start, and it's limited to veterans and their families, and only in cases where the woman's life is at risk...but there are now a dozen states where even that is illegal.
I fully expect Republicans to block any funding bills for the VA until the policy is rescinded, and that's where things are going to get very ugly. The PACT Act passed the Senate for sick veterans exposed to toxic burn pits after massive pressure last month, but the entire shutdown fight will certainly start up again soon.
Keep an eye on this fight.
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