Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Department of Veterans Affairs quietly implements abortion ban [View all]
The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented an abortion ban after the Department of Justice issued a memo last week that prohibited the VA from providing abortion services to veterans and their dependents who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest or in cases when life or health are endangered by carrying a pregnancy to term.
The memo, issued December 18 and authored by Joshua Craddock, deputy assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, states that the Biden-era rule that allowed the VA to provide limited abortion counseling and services to more than 9 million veterans and their beneficiaries is not valid.
Screenshots of what appears to be an internal memo sent Monday to the leaders of the VA’s 18 regional care systems by the VA’s under secretary of health — obtained by the national legal nonprofit Democracy Forward and provided to MS NOW — state that the VA must comply with the DOJ memo effective immediately. The directive also states that the changes to the VA policy “do not prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.”
The government argued in its proposed rule in August that the VA “has never understood this policy to prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances” and said “for the avoidance of doubt” this exception would be spelled out in the new policy.
The memo, issued December 18 and authored by Joshua Craddock, deputy assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, states that the Biden-era rule that allowed the VA to provide limited abortion counseling and services to more than 9 million veterans and their beneficiaries is not valid.
Screenshots of what appears to be an internal memo sent Monday to the leaders of the VA’s 18 regional care systems by the VA’s under secretary of health — obtained by the national legal nonprofit Democracy Forward and provided to MS NOW — state that the VA must comply with the DOJ memo effective immediately. The directive also states that the changes to the VA policy “do not prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.”
The government argued in its proposed rule in August that the VA “has never understood this policy to prohibit providing care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances” and said “for the avoidance of doubt” this exception would be spelled out in the new policy.
Snip
https://www.ms.now/news/abortion-ban-veterans-affairs-va
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read