Danielle Runyan

As a Senior Advisor in the Office of General Counsel at VA, Runyan advises the Secretary on legal matters and issues written legal opinions which have the power of law within VA. These legal opinions and interpretations can include issues of so-called religious and “conscience rights,” which are often weaponized to deny reproductive health care, including abortion care, within VA facilities. From May to October 2025, Runyan also served as the Department’s Acting General Counsel. Notably, while she was in this leadership role, the VA released a new proposed rule banning abortion care and counseling even in cases of rape, incest, or where the health of the veteran is endangered.

Top red flags

Advocated against the Biden-era “Reproductive Health Services” rule that expanded access to abortion counseling and services in VA facilities.
Worked for an anti-abortion law firm that frequently defends clinic harassers.
Featured on an anti-abortion radio show that spreads misinformation about contraception and IVF, in addition to abortion misinformation.

While working at the First Liberty Institute, an anti-abortion law firm, Runyan represented a nurse practitioner in a lawsuit over an alleged “conscience rights violation.”
- The lawsuit demanded religious accommodations for VA employees who don’t want to provide standard health care in line with the “Reproductive Health Services” rule, despite the fact that the VA had an existing accommodation process.

Runyan authored multiple articles advocating against the VA’s “Reproductive Health Services” rule, reiterating her belief that VA staff should be able to deny care because of “conscience” objections and falsely claiming that the VA was now able to provide “unlimited abortions for essentially any reason.”
- In reality, the rule expands abortion counseling and services in limited circumstances.
Runyan wrote an op-ed dismissing anti-abortion violence and claiming that the Army has a history and pattern of “overt classification of those…who value the unborn as terrorists.”
- In reality, an internal Army training referred to certain violent anti-abortion groups as “terrorist groups” (for example, the anti-abortion organization the American Family Association which is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center).

Runyan held multiple roles at the First Liberty Institute, an anti-abortion law firm that frequently defends clinic harassers under the guise of “religious freedom.”
- First Liberty Institute congratulated Runyan on her appointment to the VA.
Runyan appeared on the “Pro-Life Attorneys” episode of “I Choose Life: News and Views,” an anti-abortion radio show, to celebrate her lawsuit related to the VA’s “Reproductive Health Services” rule.
- The show is hosted by an anti-abortion advocate who works for the extremist organization “Right to Life of Northeast Indiana,” and features episodes that spread misinformation about a variety of reproductive health topics including medication abortion, contraception, and IVF.
Runyan praised the core values of the anti-abortion group the American Family Association and denied that it is a hate group, despite its designation as such by the Southern Poverty Law Center.