The Trump administration is already under fire for not keeping up with its campaign promises about IVF coverage. Now, the President is facing the wrath of advocates for veterans, Democrats, and reproductive rights campaigners after quietly ending abortion care for former U.S. service members and their families.
As part of his crusade against the LGBTQ+ community, Donald Trump has already moved to cease gender-affirming care for the service members. Now, Planned Parenthood Federation America has criticized the administration for its latest move regarding abortion. According to Rawstory, the recently passed GOP budget bill targeted the group’s clinic by cutting off Medicaid funds if it continues to offer abortions.
“Since taking office, the Trump administration has repeatedly attacked service members, veterans, and their families’ access to basic reproductive care, including gender-affirming care,” said Alexis McGill, the CEO and President of Planned Parenthood.
In a Monday statement, he added, “Those who fight for all our freedom must have the most basic freedom to control their own bodies and futures—and this rule robs them of it. Taking away access to healthcare shows us that the Trump administration will always put politics and retribution over people’s lives.”
“Planned Parenthood will never stop fighting to ensure everyone has access to the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive healthcare—no matter what.”
His comments came after the Trump admin revised a Biden-era policy that allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortion care and counselling to U.S. service members and their relatives in cases of incest, r-pe, or a critical pregnancy.
We cannot let VA stop providing this care to veterans by ripping away this narrow, targeted protection. I will be fighting as hard & long as possible to reverse this cruel, dangerous new policy. 3 https://t.co/YgIORxuqwU
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) August 1, 2025
The newly proposed rule states that it would “reinstate the full exclusion on abortions and abortion counseling from the medical benefits package.” The VA also proposed the elimination of the Civilian Health and Medical Program.
The proposal further states that the Department of Veteran Affairs would now only allow abortion care, “when a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.” Meanwhile, treating ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages would be allowed.
Needless to say, the document has received vast criticism from all kinds of people in groups. Lawmakers like Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal labeled the proposal as “disgusting and dangerous.” On Fridays, he tweeted, “We cannot let VA stop providing this care to veterans by ripping away this narrow, targeted protection. I will be fighting as hard & long as possible to reverse this cruel, dangerous new policy.”
“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, for everyone,” said Sen. Patty Murray, who played a key role in establishing abortion care during the Biden administration.
