An advocacy organization representing US veterans has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the reinstatement of a ban on abortion services and counseling for veterans and their dependents facing certain pregnancy-related dangers and circumstances.
The non-profit group Minority Veterans of America is bringing the legal challenge on behalf of members affected by the policy. The lawsuit includes one member who is pregnant and describes her being unable to access various services.
In the lawsuit filed with the US court of appeals for the federal circuit, Minority Veterans of America claims that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which bars federal agencies from acting “arbitrarily or capriciously”, by restoring restrictions on abortion services for veterans and dependents whose pregnancies result from rape or incest or whose health could be jeopardized by continuing a pregnancy.
An anonymous member named in the lawsuit said that when she discovered she was pregnant she felt “terrified” because of multiple chronic health conditions and previous pregnancy complications. The complaint states that her first-trimester pregnancy has already worsened some of her medical issues and that there is “a substantial risk” she may need to terminate the pregnancy to protect her health.
According to the filing, first reported by MS Now, the abortion counseling ban prevents VA medical providers from discussing “the full range of options available to her during the course of her pregnancy”.
The renewed VA policy took effect last year after a justice department memorandum concluded that a Biden administration-era rule permitting limited abortion services through the VA was invalid. By relying on the justice department memo, the VA was able to enact the change weeks earlier than the standard regulatory process would typically allow.
The VA began providing abortions under limited circumstances in 2022, following a policy change implemented by the Biden administration after the supreme court ended the federal right to abortion in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health.
The lawsuit claims the Trump administration improperly relied on the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, which bars the VA from providing abortions as well as infertility treatments and pregnancy care, while disregarding a 1996 law granting the VA secretary discretion over medical services.
The complaint also says the VA failed to address its own 2022 findings that limited abortion services were necessary to safeguard veterans’ health. While the Trump administration has maintained that the VA still permits abortions in life-threatening situations, including ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, the lawsuit argues that the regulatory language does not formally establish that exception for veterans themselves, applying it only to their dependents.
