Women veterans struggle with changing VA policies on abortion
Biden-era policies supported women who wanted to end pregnancies. Now, with a Republican administration, there has been a commitment to reverse all of that.
One of the bigger ways a presidential administration can affect abortion access is through the policies it establishes regarding the care that veterans have available to them at the VA hospital system.
Currently, a budget bill prohibiting VA funding for abortion services is advancing through the House, with similar policies expected in the future. The Biden administration's paid leave policy is also at risk of being overturned. VA Secretary Doug Collins' stance on reproductive rights is generally anti-abortion.
Mary Kaszynski, Director of Government Relations at VoteVets, a progressive veterans' organization, spoke with me about what’s happening in government right now.
“Even the subtle attacks to undermine confidence in the VA are the same thing as explicitly taking away healthcare from women veterans,” Kaszynski said. “That's important to understand.”
All of that affects military recruitment, which has been a concern lately. Some have even gone so far as to call it a crisis, as many people don’t want to enlist. According to the Department of Defense, young Americans have fewer ties to friends or family members who have served in the military.
There is a declining presence of veterans in our society. Approximately 77% of people between the ages of 17 and 24 require some waiver to serve due to various disqualifications.
Kaszynski pointed out how limiting the range of healthcare benefits for women would exacerbate that.
“If women can't get access to health care in the military that compares to the health care that they would get in the private sector, they're not going to choose the military as a career,” she said. “And that undermines our military because it cuts in half the talent pool.”
The budget bill that's making its way through the House right now prohibits funding for any abortion services through the VA. That bill hasn't passed yet, but it likely will along party lines. It was passed out of the House appropriations committee this week, but has not yet started moving in the Senate.
Another change was to the paid leave policy established by former President Joe Biden. In January, Trump signed an executive order reaffirming the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. Defense Secretary Hegseth rescinded the standing department policy to prevent servicewomen from traveling for abortion care.
In February, Democratic New Jersey Rep.Mikie Sherrill reintroduced the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act, legislation to protect health care access for servicewomen and military families who are stationed in states with extreme abortion bans. This critical bill would require the Department of Defense to permit service members to take leave and reimburse their travel costs for receiving reproductive health care treatment.
Although that attempt has been introduced, Congress remains firmly Republican, and the chances of it passing are nonexistent. Even if they win the midterms, President Trump would likely veto it.
All of this spells bad things for the makeup and well-being of the armed forces.
“We're no longer recruiting the best and the brightest if half of the best and the brightest are going to the private sector because we're not providing comparable benefits,” Kaszynski said. “So it's not just an attack on women. It's not just an attack on women service members and women veterans. It's an attack on military readiness and US national security.”