The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday that it plans to offer abortions on a case-by-case basis for veterans and VA beneficiaries, regardless of state restrictions.
The department said it will provide abortions when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, and when it threatens a woman’s health and wellbeing.
Eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis after a “careful consultation between VA health care providers and the Veterans they serve.” The agency plans to “provide these services in as many locations as possible.”
The announcement comes one day after the agency submitted an interim final rule to the Federal Register that would allow abortion access on federal property, even in states where abortion is banned.
The VA said that the new services will be authorized immediately upon publication of the interim rule, then the agency will take comments for 30 days.
The agency cited the overturning of Roe v. Wade as the reason for the change.
“We came to this decision after listening to VA health care providers and Veterans across the country, who sounded the alarm that abortion restrictions are creating a medical emergency for those we serve,” Shereef Elnahal, under secretary for health at the VA, said in a release. “Offering this care will save Veterans’ health and lives, and there is nothing more important than that.”
The decision comes after the VA said in June, just after Roe as overturned, that it did not plan to increase services or offer travel assistance for abortions. A group of 25 Democratic senators had urged the VA to make regulatory changes to offer abortions.
The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortions for active military members and a 1992 law prohibits abortion care for military veterans or retirees. Republicans have said the VA will run afoul of that law if it enacts its new rule.
The VA says the existing law does not prohibit the agency from updating the scope of necessary medical care to include abortions.