Topline
The Department of Veterans Affairs will start providing abortions to U.S. veterans and family members in cases of rape, incest and in instances when a mother’s health is at risk “regardless of state restrictions,” it announced Friday, arguing the move is “essential” to protect veterans’ health after 14 states banned the procedure.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it will start offering abortions to veterans and VA … [+]
Key Facts
Veterans Affairs submitted an interim rule to the Federal Register late Thursday, revising its former bars on providing the procedure as well as abortion counseling on federal property.
In a statement Friday, VA Secretary Denis McDonough called the move a “patient safety decision,” writing “pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve to have access to world-class reproductive care when they need it most.”
Determining whether a birth would pose a risk to the life of a pregnant veteran would be made on a “case-by-case basis,” the VA said.
The department is planning to offer the procedure as soon as the interim final rule is published, which the Military Times reports could happen as early as next week.
Key Background
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, giving states the ability to ban abortions, more than a dozen states have enacted total and near-total bans. In Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, so-called trigger laws prohibiting abortions with few exceptions went into effect in the weeks following the Supreme Court’s ruling. In Alabama, all abortions are prohibited, while in Georgia and Ohio, it’s banned at six weeks of pregnancy and in Florida the ban starts at 15 weeks. Bans have been blocked by courts in North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming, and limited in scope in Idaho. Voters in Kansas rejected a ballot measure last month to allow legislators to restrict the procedure. Meanwhile, in Arizona, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin, abortion bans issued before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 have gone into effect, although their legality is murky.
Big Number
2 million. That’s how many women veterans there are in the U.S., according to the Military Times.
Further Reading
VA to offer abortion to pregnant veterans in some cases (Axios)
VA to provide abortions in cases of rape, danger to woman’s health (Military Times)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/02/veterans-affairs-to-start-providing-abortions-including-in-states-where-its-banned/