Washington, D.C. – Minority Veterans of America (MVA), represented by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and Democracy Forward, is suing the Trump-Vance administration over its ban on abortion care and counseling at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The ban reverses VA’s expansion of abortion care access in 2022 and applies even in cases of rape, incest, or serious health risks for the pregnant person. It is the most restrictive abortion ban among federal programs and one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.
The VA is the federal government’s largest provider of healthcare. The VA abortion ban applies across all states, regardless of the state’s abortion access laws, laying bare that Trump’s refrain about leaving abortion to the states was a lie.
The legal groups bring this lawsuit on behalf of MVA and its harmed members, including one pregnant member who has chronic medical conditions and a long history of pregnancy complications and needs access to abortion care and counseling to protect her health. The lawsuit argues that the Trump-Vance administration did not provide a reasoned explanation for changing the VA’s abortion care policy and relied on a flawed interpretation of governing law, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act — a federal law that governs agency rulemaking.
“This lawsuit is about protecting veterans’ access to comprehensive health care, including the full range of care and medical guidance they deserve through the VA,” said Lindsay Church, Executive Director of Minority Veterans of America. “Our community includes veterans with complex medical histories, those who have experienced pregnancy complications, and survivors of sexual violence and trauma, all of whom need access to abortion care and counseling to protect their health. Veterans have already sacrificed for this country, and no one should be denied life-saving, medically necessary care or have those decisions dictated by politics instead of made between a patient and their provider.”
“I am a proud veteran and member of Minority Veterans of America and just learned that I am pregnant,” said Member A, who is participating in this lawsuit anonymously. “I wish I felt excited about this pregnancy, but instead I feel terrified. I have several chronic health conditions and a complex medical history, including a history of pregnancy complications. VA’s ban on abortion care and counseling is a direct threat to my health and my ability to parent my existing children and a betrayal of the sacrifices I have made for my country.”
“The brave veterans that Minority Veterans of America represents sacrificed and fought for this country, and in return, they were promised comprehensive, equitable health care,” said Lucy Zhou, senior litigation counsel and NWLC’s lead attorney on the case. “The Trump-Vance administration broke that promise by instituting an extreme, nationwide abortion ban at the VA. Now, one of Minority Veterans of America’s members finds herself in a high-risk pregnancy where she cannot access the full scope of pregnancy care that she needs. We are eager to use every tool available to fight on behalf of our client, their members, and all veterans and their families to reverse this cruel ban.”
“The Trump-Vance administration has quietly banned abortion for veterans – even for those who are survivors of rape and incest or in serious health risk. Denying our nation’s veterans dignity and bodily autonomy after they have risked their lives to defend our country is ruthless and unpatriotic,” said Kaitlyn Golden, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “We are committed to using every legal tool at our disposal to fight on behalf of veterans and their families and overturn this malicious nationwide ban.”
Click here to read a copy of the petition.
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