Trump Administration Moves To Ban Abortion Care For Veterans: 'Unspeakably Cruel'

The proposed rule change would end a Biden-era policy allowing VA facilities to provide abortions in cases of rape or incest.

By Mollie Reilly
Aug 2, 2025, 01:14 PM EDT

The Trump administration moved Friday to end a Biden-era rule that allows Veterans Affairs facilities to provide abortion care services, claiming the policy “contradicted decades of Federal policy against forced taxpayer funding for abortion.” The rule, implemented in 2022 after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning abortion rights, allowed VA facilities to provide abortion counseling. It also allowed the VA to provide abortions under specific circumstances, including in cases of rape, incest or when the veteran’s health was at risk due to the pregnancy.

The proposed rule change, authorized by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, would end those exceptions, only allowing abortion in life-threatening circumstances such as ectopic pregnancies. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the proposed rule change is “unspeakably cruel.” “Trump and Secretary Collins are ripping away necessary health care from pregnant veterans whose lives and health are in danger, or who were raped—it’s unspeakably cruel and a grotesque assault on women who have put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” she said in a Friday statement. “The bottom line is, Republicans don’t care if your health is in danger, if you’re a veteran, or if you’ve been raped—they want abortion outlawed everywhere, in every circumstance, for everyone.”

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, more than 400,000 women veterans live in states where abortion has either been totally banned or severely restricted. The group notes thousands of trans and non-binary veterans in these states may also need access to abortion care. The policy also applies to veterans who live in states where abortion is protected, meaning they will need to seek care outside of the VA.

“This shows you just how extreme this administration’s anti-abortion stance is — they would rather a veteran suffer severely than receive an abortion,” said the Center for Reproductive Rights’ Nancy Northup. The Trump administration, meanwhile, argues that the Biden rule overreached by expanding veterans’ medical benefits package to include abortion care.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/veterans-affairs-abortion-rule-trump_n_688e2f48e4b022644fdf62a6