The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday moved to fully implement a ban on most abortions for servicemembers and their families, a spokesman confirmed to Scripps News, following the release of a new Department of Justice memo that argued providing such procedures was unlawful.
According to an internal Dec. 22 memorandum from John Figueroa, senior advisor performing the delegable duties of the Under Secretary for Health, first obtained by the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward and shared with Scripps News, the VA announced it was reinstating “the full exclusion on abortions and abortion counseling” for both service members and their families.
The memo went on to say that abortions and other pregnancy termination procedures would be allowed if the health of the pregnant mother was at risk.
VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz confirmed the policy change was effective “immediately” in an email with Scripps News on Tuesday.
“DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately,” Kasperowicz wrote. “DOJ’s opinion is consistent with VA’s proposed rule which continues to work its way through the regulatory process.”
Indeed, the new VA policy came days after the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel released an opinion — authored by OLC deputy assistant attorney general Joshua Craddock — that found the Biden-era policy allowing the VA to provide limited abortion counseling and services to veterans and their families was invalid. The new opinion reversed a previous OLC finding that abortions could be provided to servicemembers and their families in some circumstances, suggesting that interpretation misinterpreted federal law.
“That VA previously has offered general pregnancy care and some infertility services under its general treatment authority demonstrates at most that VA sometimes departed from section 106’s constraints — not that those constraints do not exist,” the opinion stated. “And as we have explained, the better reading of section 106’s text is that VA may not provide abortions pursuant to its general treatment authority.”
The Trump administration earlier in 2025 announced plans to reverse the Biden-era policy, but initially planned to do so via the traditional federal rulemaking process — something that can be long and arduous.
Officials first announced the new abortion ban via a proposed rule in the Federal Register in early August. That triggered a 30-day public notice and comment comment period that attracted more than 24,300 comments. Typically, the Department would then publish the final rule for implementation no sooner than 30 days.
But as of December 23, the final rule has still yet to be published. The new memo enables officials to pursue the abortion ban immediately, circumventing the rulemaking process.
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Supporters of abortion rights and advocates for female veterans blasted the VA’s announcement.
“Secretively and sickeningly, Trump’s VA is depriving women veterans of essential health care,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “A policy just issued by Secretary Collins stops this reproductive care even for women who are victims of rape or incest, or whose health is at risk. He’s done it by internal memo, not by open rule making, avoiding public attention and scrutiny… This cruel, misguided action is reckless and reprehensible.”
“VA’s latest abortion ban is a direct attack on veterans’ freedoms, including our right to make our own health care decisions,” Lindsay Church, co-founder and executive director of Minority Veterans of America, said in a statement. “Veterans face unique challenges that make it critical for us to be able to access abortion care, including possible exposure to toxic chemicals, waiting to start a family until after our service, and experiencing sexual assault. Abortion should not be a political issue - it is necessary, life-saving medical care and denying this care will put veterans and their loved ones' lives in danger.”
“Trump claims to be a champion for veterans and servicemembers, but he’s ripping away their health care,” said Reproductive Freedom for All president and CEO Mini Timmaraju. “This decision endangers the health, lives, and futures of the people who have served our country—and it proves what we’ve long warned: Trump and his allies won’t stop until they’ve imposed a national abortion ban.”
Opponents of the ban noted that more than half of all female veterans live in states where abortion is currently outlawed, and that one in three women veterans have reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault while in the military.
According to the memo, the new VA policy does not provide any carveout to provide abortion care for victims of rape or incest.
A spokesperson for the VA didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about whether abortions would be allowed in such cases.
