Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration has reversed a Biden-era policy that allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortion counseling and abortion services through VA health care, according to internal agency communications and a legal opinion from the Justice Department.
The change follows a Dec. 18 memorandum written by Joshua Craddock, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which concluded the VA lacks legal authority under existing federal law to provide abortion services to veterans or their dependents.
The legal opinion revoked a prior Office of Legal Counsel interpretation used by the Biden administration to justify abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, or when a pregnancy threatened the “life and health” of the patient, according to reporting by The Hill.
After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned long-standing abortion precedent, the Biden administration expanded abortion access through the VA, arguing the agency could provide abortions in certain emergency circumstances even when state law restricted the procedure.
An internal VA memo dated Monday and sent to leaders of the agency’s 18 regional service networks stated the VA “must comply” with the Dec. 18 OLC opinion and that, “effective immediately,” the department would no longer provide abortions or abortion counseling.
The memo said the change does not prohibit treatment for life-threatening emergencies, including care related to ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages. It also stated the policy “does not bar care necessary to save a veteran’s life when the veteran’s clinician determines that care is necessary,” language similar to exceptions found in many state abortion laws.
VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said in a statement that the agency moved quickly because “DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately.”
Kasperowicz said the Justice Department’s opinion aligns with the VA’s ongoing regulatory process, adding that the OLC memo “is consistent with VA’s proposed rule.”
The VA has been working on a proposed rule, released in August, that would formally bar abortion services and abortion counseling through the VA medical benefits package. A final version of the rule is expected soon.