The Trump Administration has confirmed it is no longer providing abortion care for veterans relying on VA health care even in instances of rape, incest, or to save the health of the pregnant person. While veterans and their family members were previously able to to access abortion care in these specific circumstances, this new policy offers only a narrow and vague exception to save the life of a pregnant veteran or their family member. These kinds of exceptions to save a person’s life often don’t work in reality.   

This policy is effectively a national abortion ban for veterans, preventing them and their families from receiving abortions at VA health care facilities in all 50 states, including the 14 states that protect abortion rights.  For veterans living in the 13 states that already ban abortion, it will shut off what may have been their only path to urgently needed care. 

“Veterans risked their lives to defend our safety and freedom – and now the Trump Administration is taking away theirs,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Everyone should be appalled by this heartless policy. President Trump said he would leave abortion to the states, but he continues to seize new opportunities to restrict it nationally.” 

The Trump Administration originally proposed this policy change in August, but instead of following the formal process to finalize such a rule, it quietly announced yesterday in an internal memo that the policy is currently in effect. It justified the questionable process using recent legal advice from the Department of Justice.  

Women are currently the fastest growing population of veterans, and removing the exceptions to the VA’s strict abortion ban will be devastating for pregnant veterans who need access to this care. More than two million women veterans live in the U.S. today, and more than 400,000 women veterans are estimated to live in states with total abortion bans or severe restrictions, meaning they may not be able to access abortion care—in case of emergency care or otherwise—at all. There are also thousands of transgender men as well as non-binary veterans who might need abortion care, and more than 700,000 family members of veterans get their care from the VA. 

In 2022, immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Biden-Harris Administration carved out exceptions to the VA’s complete abortion ban in certain situations. That rule also allowed VA clinicians to discuss abortion options or referrals with patients for the first time, a conversation that is prohibited by the new rule. 

This rule change was ushered through by the White House Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought and VA Secretary Doug Collins—both adamantly anti-abortion—with Vought even opposing abortion if it is needed to save the life of a pregnant person. It is the first major regulatory action by this administration to proactively take away abortion rights from a group of people nationwide, and a foreboding encroachment into states where abortion rights are protected. 

The removal of the health, rape, and incest exceptions are particularly dangerous. PTSD, severe hypertension, and chronic kidney disease are all more common in veteran populations—and each can make pregnancy more dangerous, or even deadly. One in three women veterans report experiencing military sexual trauma (MST), including sexual assault, during their military service, and research indicates that nearly 40% of homeless women veterans experienced MST while in the service. Between 2023 and 2024, enrollment of women veterans in VA health care increased in every state, and four of the six most concentrated states were Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina—all states with abortion bans. 

Pregnancy complications are not uncommon. Each year in the United States, about 700 people die during pregnancy or in the year after, and another 50,000 people each year have unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery with serious short- or long-term health consequences. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: 

Center for Reproductive Rights: [email protected]  

The Center for Reproductive Rights is dedicated to helping all people access abortion in their communities, including people who are denied care while facing pregnancy complications. If you have been denied care and want to speak to a lawyer about your options, please reach out to [email protected].