The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to move forward with a regulation that would ban abortion procedures in any VA facility.
The proposed change would reverse provisions added to VA benefits in 2022 under the Biden administration, which allowed abortions in certain cases such as rape, incest or to protect the life of a mother in cases of life-threatening pregnancy complications.
The VA medical benefits package did not include the coverage when it was first developed in 1999.
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Writing in the Federal Register, the VA says it is reversing course "to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families."
"Prior to the Biden Administration’s politically motivated change in 2022, federal law and longstanding precedent across Democrat and Republican administrations prevented VA from providing abortions and abortion counseling," A VA sokesperson said in a statement to Scripps News. "VA’s proposed rule will reinstate the pre-Biden bipartisan policy, bringing the department back in line with historical norms."
The public comment period for the proposed rule ends Sept. 3.
