The Donald Trump administration has done it again! He is now a step closer to implementing an effective nation-wide ban on access to abortion care.
This time he has done it by proposing the exclusion of abortions from veterans’ medical benefits package.
This comes close at the heels of their decision to burn birth control aids worth millions of dollars, rather than letting the same be distributed to the needy.
The Trump administration's open hatred of pro-choice, pro-birth control measures is well-known, but this time he has gone too far.
In what is being decried as one of the most severe anti-abortion policies nationwide, the Donald Trump-led administration has decided to withdraw federal government-funded access to abortion care for military veterans – even in cases of rape, incest or to protect the health of the patient.
The Joe Biden Approach v The Donald Trump Approach
Under the Joe Biden-led administration this coverage was made available to veterans and their beneficiaries even in states where abortion was banned or restricted.
Attempting to justify its move the Trump administration said that it was proposing withdrawal of abortion care “to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families”.
It added that they would not prohibit providing abortion care to pregnant women in life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.
However, reproductive rights advocates have highlighted the disastrous consequences that this move could have.
Sara Outterson, chief federal legislative counsel for Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told The Intercept that this appears to be “the first nationwide abortion ban that Trump is supporting and putting in place.”
Others also said the shift in policy will harm service members and their families –especially as the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 eliminates the constitutional right to abortions.
Who will be affected
This proposed move stands to affect the rights of the fastest growing group of veterans – women.
There are at least 2 million women veterans in the United States with 500,000 women veterans of reproductive age who are enrolled in VA health care.
More than half of these 500,000 living in states with abortion restrictions, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.
VA is also proposing to reinstate the exclusions on abortion and abortion counseling for Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) that were removed in 2022.
Because why stop at banning the procedure when you can also prohibit talking about it?
This blanket rule-change is going to affect all veterans - even those living in states where abortion care is legally protected and a constitutional right.
The draconian move essentially reverses all the pro-abortion care benefits extended by the erstwhile Joe Biden government.
Why this is disastrous
Katie O’Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center, reportedly said in a statement that the effort was a “direct attack” on those who have served America.
She said it “deepens the crisis” created by abortion bans and restrictions — “stripping veterans of their reproductive freedom and creating even more confusion about where they can turn for care”.
“Let me be clear: abortion is health care,” she said, echoing sentiments of hundreds of thousands of women veterans who are now left in murky waters for abortion care.
“Veterans already face unique challenges to their health and well-being, including experiencing PTSD, recovering from military sexual trauma, and facing an increased risk of suicide. Banning access to the full range of reproductive services, including abortion, further jeopardizes their health and safety. No one should have to travel hundreds of miles, endure financial hardship, or risk their health just to get the medical care they need. Our veterans deserve better,” she added.
Trump’s other anti-choice moves: Politicization of essential medical care
In May, the Trump administration also made its first move to cut off access to medication-based abortions, which make up nearly 63 percent of all abortions in the US.
Based on a dubious study by the right wing think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center, the latest attack launched is on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.
Even though the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has now been tasked to “further investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women” and “reconsider its approval altogether.”
This is despite the fact that the study which claims that serious complications from mifepristone use “were 22 times higher than previously reported” is neither peer-reviewed nor published in a medical journal.
In fact, Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a professor in the University of California-San Francisco’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, has been reported as saying that, “Calling it a study would be too generous”.
Turning Rage into Resistance (and Resistance into Fashion)
Now here’s the thing: we know this isn’t just about policy, it’s about power. It’s about control.
And it’s about sending a message to anyone who has ever had a uterus: “Your body isn’t really yours.”
Well, we’ve got a message of our own.
At Heads Off United, we don’t believe in staying silent or subtle. That’s why we’re putting this fight where it belongs: front and center, in bold letters, on chests across the country.
- - “Don’t Tread on Me” (Yes, it’s a uterus. No, we’re not sorry.)
Because now more than ever, your voice, your vote, and yes — your wardrobe — matter.
👕 Shop Loud. Wear Proud.
Every shirt is a statement. Every purchase is a protest.
Because if they’re going to legislate our bodies, we’re going to turn their misogyny into merch.
Support veterans. Support bodily autonomy. Say no to bans. Say yes to shirts.