U.S. veterans agency to offer abortions in cases of rape, health risks
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[September 03, 2022]
By Ismail Shakil
(Reuters) -The U.S. government will provide
abortion services for the first time ever to veterans in cases of rape
or incest, or when the pregnancy puts the life of the woman at risk,
even in states that have banned or restricted the practice, the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs said on Friday.
The agency said in a policy document that it decided to offer abortions
to veterans in response to a wave of U.S. states enacting bans and
restrictions on such services since the Supreme Court ended the
nationwide right to abortion in June.
The department determined that change was needed "to protect the lives
and health of veterans" and the rule was meant to "avert imminent and
future harm" to veterans, the document said.
"This is a patient safety decision," Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis
McDonough said in a statement.
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Representative Mark Takano, the Democratic chairman of the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, applauded the decision, which he said
was part of the department's responsibility to serve the needs of
veterans, including providing "equitable and unrestricted access to the
full spectrum of reproductive healthcare."
Mike Bost, the ranking Republican on the committee, sharply criticized
the new policy, which he said was "illegal."
"Abortion is wrong, and Congress prohibited VA from providing it decades
ago," Bost said in a statement. "I oppose it and am already working to
put a stop to it."
The abortion issue is expected to play a consequential role in
gubernatorial and state legislative races around the country this fall.
Democrats aim to leverage anger over the Supreme Court's recent
overturning of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed American women access to
abortion services, ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
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The seal of the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs is seen outside of their office in Washington,
D.C., U.S., August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Since the court ruling, 11 states have enacted near-total bans on
abortion at all stages of pregnancy in force: Alabama, Arkansas,
Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
In Texas, abortion providers could face up to lifetime imprisonment
for helping patients terminate a pregnancy. In Oklahoma, where
abortion was already banned with few exceptions, a law that took
effect on Thursday makes providing an abortion a felony punishable
with up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Veterans Affairs healthcare providers will determine whether the
pregnancy is a risk to the life and health of the veteran on a
case-by-case basis, the department said.
In cases of rape or incest, self-reporting by a veteran would
constitute sufficient evidence to justify the abortion, it said.
The new policy removes or changes some provisions in the medical
benefits package for veterans that excluded abortion services until
now, according to a document submitted to the Office of the Federal
Register as an "interim final rule."
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan
Oatis)
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