Under the draft rule change, the new policy overhauls health care delivery to 9 million veterans and eligible family members; the VA has not previously offered any type of abortion or counseling patients considering the procedure.
According to VA data, there are 2 million female veterans in the United States, and about a quarter of them participate in VA care.
“Virginia serves approximately 300,000 women of reproductive age, and female veterans are the fastest-growing group in Virginia,” Virginia spokesman Terrence Hayes said in an email. Once the rules are announced, Hayes said Virginia will be “immediately ready to provide these services in as many locations as possible.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough called the change a “patient safety decision” in a statement.
“Pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve world-class reproductive health care when they need it most. That’s what our country owes them, and that’s what we at VA will deliver,” McDonough said.
Veterans advocates welcome the change as it expands health care options for veterans.
“Providing timely and quality health care for veterans should always be a top priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Jeremy Butler, chief executive of American Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, said in an email.
Other advocates, such as Sen. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) praised the VA changes while criticizing Republican lawmakers for shaping the restrictive reproductive rights landscape many Americans now face.
“For the first time ever, the Veterans Health Administration will finally be able to provide abortion care to ensure that neither our veterans nor their eligible dependents have to face a medical emergency — or stay pregnant after rape or incest — Simply because Republican politicians think they know what’s best for them,” Murray said in a statement.
Congressman. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), a senior member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, criticized the announcement.
“This proposal violates long-standing, established laws and complete executive overreach,” he said in a statement. “I oppose it and have worked to stop it.”
Veterans Affairs move comes two months after the landmark provides federal protection Roe v. Wade The decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. Virginia made the change after speaking with veterans and health care providers about the state-level restrictions put in place afterward, Virginia Deputy Health Secretary Shereef Elnahal said in a statement. “A wake-up call” roe overthrown Health risks to veterans and their families.
While the new policy is to expand medical benefits for veterans, the provisions are very similar to existing medical services at the Department of Defense, which uses the same standards to provide abortion services in military hospitals. Active-duty military care is not widely used, with an average of fewer than two dozen abortions per year, according to the Pentagon.
Still, advocates are urging lawmakers and defense officials to help remove barriers to elective abortion, citing military bases in many states banning all abortions and the difficulty of traveling long distances. Virginia describes a similar problem in a draft policy, saying some veterans and family members “may no longer be able to receive such medical care in their communities.”
Under the new VA policy, health care providers will determine on a case-by-case basis compliance with pregnancy criteria that endanger the life and health of the pregnant woman. Veterans seeking to terminate a pregnancy due to rape or incest are only required to self-report and do not need to provide documentation such as police reports, the department said.
Since the department is offering abortions for the first time, it’s unclear how quickly VA facilities will be able to hire doctors who can perform the procedure, especially in states with strict restrictions on abortion. If veterans and eligible family members qualify, one solution may be to seek treatment at a civilian hospital. In these cases, the VA will pay.