The Trump administration has rolled back a Biden-era policy that allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide limited abortion counseling and abortion services through VA health care, including in cases of rape or incest, according to internal agency communications and a legal opinion issued by the Department of Justice.
The shift follows a Dec. 18 memorandum authored by Joshua Craddock, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which concluded the VA does not have legal authority under existing federal law to provide abortion services to veterans or their dependents.
The Dec. 18 legal opinion revoked a Biden-era Office of Legal Counsel interpretation that the VA had relied on to provide abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, or when a pregnancy threatened the “life and health” of the patient, according to reporting by The Hill.
The Biden administration expanded VA abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that reversed decades of abortion access precedent, arguing the VA could provide abortions in certain circumstances as part of emergency medical care even when states restricted the procedure, according to The Hill.
Screenshots of an internal VA memo dated Monday and sent to leaders of the agency’s 18 regional integrated service networks, which were shared with The Hill, stated that the VA “must comply” with the Dec. 18 OLC opinion and that “effective immediately” the agency would no longer provide abortions or abortion counseling.
The internal VA memo also stated that the changes do not prohibit treatment for life-threatening emergencies, including care for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages, according to the screenshots cited by The Hill.
The memo further specified that the policy “does not bar care necessary to save a veteran’s life when the veteran’s clinician determines that care is necessary,” language that echoes exceptions included in many state abortion laws.
In a statement to The Hill, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the agency moved quickly because “DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately.”
Kasperowicz also told The Hill that the Justice Department opinion aligns with the VA’s ongoing regulatory process, saying the OLC memo “is consistent with VA’s proposed rule, which continues to work its way through the regulatory process.”
The Hill reported the VA did not answer questions about why the administration issued a separate DOJ memo while the regulation is still pending, but legal guidance from the Justice Department can be applied immediately while regulations must move through a lengthy federal process.
The VA has been working on a proposed rule, released in August, that would formally bar abortion services and abortion counseling through the VA medical benefits package, and a final version is expected soon, according to The Hill.
In the proposed rule, the Trump administration argued that “as a matter of law, it is without question that VA has the authority to bar provision of abortion services through the VA medical benefits package to veterans,” according to language quoted by The Hill.
The Trump-led VA also accused the Biden administration of using the Dobbs decision to create what it described as a “purported federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to state law,” according to The Hill.
The agency further said the Biden administration predicted a high demand for abortions provided through the VA that never materialized, according to the proposed rule language cited by The Hill.
The Hill reported the proposed rule drew more than 24,000 public comments, and that once finalized, it would likely include a 30-day implementation period before formally taking effect.
Abortion-rights advocates criticized the rollback, with Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward calling it “callous and inhumane” in a statement cited by The Hill.
Nancy Northup of the Center for Reproductive Rights told The Hill the move was “an insult to veterans” and argued it contradicted President Trump’s stated position that abortion policy should be handled by the states.
Supporters of the change have argued that the VA should focus on its core mission and that federal agencies should not expand abortion access without explicit authorization from Congress, a view reflected in the Justice Department’s conclusion that current law does not permit the VA to provide elective abortions.
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