"The ban follows months of efforts by the Trump administration to roll back a Biden-era policy that, for the first time, permitted the VA to counsel veterans and their families about abortion, as well as offer the procedure in cases of rape or incest, or when a veteran's pregnancy imperiled their health. In August, the administration filed paperwork to officially roll back the policy, which had helped the VA's network of 1,300-plus healthcare facilities which treat nearly 10 million veterans each year expand access to abortion, especially in the wake of the US supreme court's 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade."
"Screenshots obtained by an advocacy group of what appears to be an internal VA memo, circulated among the heads of the VA's regional care networks on 22 December, indicate that the changes do not prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances, including in cases of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or when the veteran's clinician determines the care necessary to save a veteran's life. A VA spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the screenshot or veterans' ability to obtain abortions in medical emergencies."
The Department of Veterans Affairs has stopped providing abortions to veterans after a Department of Justice opinion concluded the practice lacked legal authorization and the VA moved to comply immediately. The change reverses a Biden-era policy that had allowed counseling and abortion services for rape, incest, or health-threatening pregnancies and had expanded access across the VA's 1,300-plus facilities that treat nearly 10 million veterans. The Trump administration filed paperwork in August to roll back the policy and the proposed rule is still in the rule-making process. Internal screenshots suggest care remains available for life-threatening pregnancy complications, but VA did not clarify emergency abortion access.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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