The Department of Veterans Affairs published a proposed rule seeking to retract existing medical benefits coverage for abortion care under 17.38 of the C.F.R. for veterans and their dependents. Beginning in 2022 with an Interim Final Rule, the VA covered abortion care after the Dobbs decision. The VA seeks to remove this coverage pursuant to a posting in the Federal Register, concluding that abortion is not a "needed" service for veterans. The agency is taking the position that the federal government does not need to fund this healthcare. The proposed rule includes a limited exception “when a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.” The agency takes the position that the "VA's authority to provide abortions is, at least, dubious and, at most, nonexistent."
