Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, his administration has been grabbing headlines for a series of controversial moves, particularly on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, immigration policy, and healthcare access. There has been a complete shift from Biden-era policies, and the administration has reignited national debates and drawn fierce backlash from rights groups, lawmakers, and public health advocates.
The latest in this string of rollbacks is a proposed rule targeting abortion care for veterans, marking another flashpoint in the ongoing battle over who gets access to what care in post-Roe America. The Trump administration, on Friday, proposed rolling back a 2022 policy that allowed Veterans Affairs facilities to offer abortion services, and this move is being called “unspeakably cruel,” by critics.
Trump just moved to outlaw women veterans who are victims of rape or incest from getting abortion care at VA.
Republicans don’t care if your health is in danger, if you’re a veteran, or if you’ve been raped—they want abortion outlawed everywhere, for everyone. https://t.co/bHaRIB21rN
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) August 2, 2025
The current policy, introduced under the Biden administration after Roe v. Wade was overturned, permits VA facilities to provide abortion counselling and, under limited circumstances, abortion care, including in cases of r-pe, incest, or if a pregnancy poses a health risk to the veteran. But under the new proposal, backed by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, those exceptions would be eliminated. Abortion would only be allowed when a pregnancy is considered life-threatening, such as in the case of an ectopic pregnancy.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) strongly condemned the proposal. “Trump and Secretary Collins are ripping away necessary health care from pregnant veterans whose lives and health are in danger, or who were r-ped—it’s unspeakably cruel and a grotesque assault on women who have put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” she said in a statement Friday. “The bottom line is, Republicans don’t care if your health is in danger, if you’re a veteran, or if you’ve been r-ped—they want abortion outlawed everywhere, in every circumstance, for everyone.”
Data from the Centre for Reproductive Rights shows that over 400,000 women veterans live in states where abortion is either banned or heavily restricted. The group also highlights that many transgender and non-binary veterans may need access to abortion care. The proposed rollback would affect all VA patients, even those in states where abortion rights are protected, by preventing them from accessing abortion services through the VA system.
“This shows you just how extreme this administration’s anti-abortion stance is — they would rather a veteran suffer severely than receive an abortion,” said Nancy Northup of the Centre for Reproductive Rights. Officials in the Trump administration argue the Biden-era rule expanded VA medical benefits in a way that wasn’t legally justified.
“For decades, VA had consistently interpreted abortion services as not ‘needed’ medical services,” the proposed rule states. “As a matter of law, it is without question that VA has the authority to bar provision of abortion services through the VA medical benefits package to veterans.”
Today, the Trump admin proposed to roll back protections for veterans and dependents to access abortion care to preserve their life or health or because of rape or incest. This new rule would make it even harder for women to get care they need, esp in states with abortion bans. https://t.co/fsLuFCo9gW
— Katie Keith (@Katie_Keith) August 1, 2025
The administration also pushed back on the idea that the pre-2022 policy denied veterans care in life-threatening situations.
“VA has never understood this policy to prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriage,” the proposal says. “For the avoidance of doubt, the proposed rule would make clear that the exclusion for abortion does not apply ‘when a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.’”
The proposed change is set to be published in the Federal Register on August 4. A 30-day public comment period will follow before the rule can be finalized.
