A lawsuit challenges the VA’s nationwide abortion ban, arguing veterans lost critical services without proper explanation.
In December, the Trump administration quietly implemented its first national abortion ban—one of the strictest in the country—and informed veterans and their families that the Department of Veteran Affairs would no longer be providing to them abortions or abortion counseling, even in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the health of the mother.. On Friday, it was sued for making the draconian move.. Per a copy of a legal complaint shared with Jezebel, Minority
Veterans of America—a nonprofit organization representing veterans—is suing the administration for violating the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal policy that governs how laws are made.. The 64-page filing says that by abruptly cutting “critical health care services” and failing to provide a reasoned explanation, the ban also used a flawed interpretation of the VA’s “statutory authority to provide abortion care.” “The brave veterans that [MVA] represents sacrificed and fought for this country, and in return,
they were promised comprehensive, equitable health care,” Lucy Zhou, senior litigation counsel at the National Women’s Law Center—one of the organizations representing DVA in the lawsuit—told Jezebel in a statement.. “The Trump-Vance administration broke that promise by instituting an extreme, nationwide abortion ban at the VA.” The December ban followed as a kowtow to a directive sent out by the Justice Department earlier that same month, which challenged a Biden-era policy from 2022 (which was
implemented after Roe was overturned) saying the VA could offer abortions to veterans and their families in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the health of the mother.. The VA had already tried to roll back the policy in August, saying it was the “exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported federal entitlement to abortions for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to state law.” All this, BTW, was
a literal objective outlined by Project 2025.. The complaint is being brought forward on behalf of several VA members, and argues that “providing the full array of pregnancy options counseling, including abortion counseling, is necessary to support veteran health and well-being given the unique health challenges veterans face.” One anonymous member, it adds, is now pregnant and unable to access life-saving abortion services.. “I am a proud veteran and member of Minority Veterans of America
and just learned that I am pregnant,” she wrote in a separate statement.. “I wish I felt excited about this pregnancy, but instead I feel terrified.. I have several chronic health conditions and a complex medical history, including a history of pregnancy complications.. VA’s ban on abortion care and counseling is a direct threat to my health and my ability to parent my existing children and a betrayal of the sacrifices I have made for
my country.” The lawsuit adds that the anonymous woman has had a difficult first trimester, and expects “substantial” risk in which she may need to get an abortion to preserve her health.. But without access to abortion, and counseling, she doesn’t know her full range of options.. “Veterans have already sacrificed for this country, and no one should be denied life-saving, medically necessary care or have those decisions dictated by politics instead of made between
a patient and their provider,” Lindsay Church, executive director of MVA, told Jezebel in a statement.. “Our community includes veterans with complex medical histories, those who have experienced pregnancy complications, and survivors of sexual violence and trauma, all of whom need access to abortion care and counseling to protect their health.”
VA abortion ban, Minority Veterans of America, Administrative Procedure Act, veteran healthcare, abortion counseling, National Women’s Law Center, Justice Department directive