According to a draft rule change, the new policy overhauls the health care service provided to 9 million veterans and eligible family members; The VA has not previously provided abortions of any kind or provided abortion counseling to patients considering the procedure.
There are two million female combatants in the United States, according to VA data, and about a quarter of them are registered with VA care.
“The VA serves nearly 300,000 women of childbearing age, and women veterans are the fastest growing category in the VA,” VA spokesperson Terence Hayes said in an email. Once the rule is published, Hayes said the VA will “immediately prepare to provide these services in as many locations as possible.”
In a statement, Virginia Secretary of State Dennis McDonough called the change a “patient safety decision.”
Pregnant women and VA recipients deserve world-class reproductive care when they need it most. That’s what our nation owes them, and that’s what we’re going to give in Virginia,” McDonough said.
Veteran advocates have welcomed the change as an expansion of health care options for veterans.
“Increasing access to quality and timely health care for veterans should be a top priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in an email.
Other advocates, such as Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington), who sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, applauded the VA change while criticizing Republican lawmakers for shaping the restrictive reproductive rights landscape that many Americans now face.
“For the first time ever, the Department of Veterans Health will finally be able to provide abortion care to ensure that no eligible veterans or dependents will have to face medical emergencies — or stay pregnant after rape or incest — simply because Republican politicians believe “They know what’s best for them.”
Representative Mike Post (R-Illinois), the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, criticized the ad.
“This proposal runs counter to a long-established law and complete administrative overreach,” he said in a statement. “I’m against it and I’m really working to put an end to it.”
VA’s move comes after two months of federal teacher protections Raw vs. Wade The decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. Sheriff Al-Nahal, undersecretary for health affairs, said in a statement that Virginia made the change after speaking to veterans and health care providers who “sound the alarm” about the statewide restrictions that went into effect after Ro overturned Create health risks for veterans and their families.
While the new policy is an expansion of veteran healthcare benefits, the regulations are very similar to Current care within the Ministry of Defense, which provides abortions in military hospitals using the same standards. Active military care is not widely used, with fewer than twenty miscarriages on average each year, according to Pentagon data.
However, advocates for the law have lobbied lawmakers and defense officials to help remove obstacles to elective abortions, citing military bases in many states banning all abortions and the difficulty of long-distance travel. The VA described a similar issue in its draft policy, saying that some veterans and family members “may no longer be able to receive such medical services in their communities.”
Under the new victim assistance policy, medical providers will determine what meets pregnancy criteria that put a pregnant woman’s life at risk on a case-by-case basis. The department said veterans seeking to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest only need to self-report and do not need to provide documentation, such as a police report..
As the department offers abortion services for the first time, it is unclear how quickly victim assistance facilities will be able to bring in doctors who can perform the procedure, particularly in states where abortions are performed. too restrictive. Could be one of the solutions Seek care in civilian hospitals If eligible veterans and family members are eligible. The VA will pay the bill in those cases.