AAUW: VA Abortion Ban Denies Veterans Essential Health Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ended abortion services and abortion counseling at VA facilities, effective immediately — including in cases of rape or incest and when continuing a pregnancy poses serious health risks.

This shift comes before the VA has completed its pending “Reproductive Health Services” rulemaking, which AAUW opposed in public comments.

This abrupt reversal is driven by a new U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion. The ruling reverses the 2022 OLC position supporting VA’s limited abortion-related care following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Compared with other federal health programs that generally allow exceptions for rape or incest, the VA’s new approach is especially restrictive. It removes access to care and information that some veterans may not obtain elsewhere.

Statement from Gloria L. Blackwell, AAUW CEO:

Our nation’s veterans deserve comprehensive, evidence-based health care — not political interference that strips them of options and silences medically appropriate counseling.

The VA’s decision to end abortion care (and even abortion counseling) is a profound breach of trust with military servicemembers. It denies veterans — including survivors of rape or incest and those facing serious health risks — the ability to receive timely care and accurate information when they need it most.

AAUW believes full availability of reproductive health care is essential to women’s ability to control their lives, bodies, and futures. Access to abortion care shapes who can truly determine their economic, educational, and reproductive future.

The VA should reverse this harmful shift and ensure that veterans can attain timely, compassionate, medically appropriate care and counseling, guided by health needs, not ideology.