Washington, D.C. — This week, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander sent a letter to the Trump administration opposing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s proposed rule to reinstate a near-total ban on abortion care and abortion counseling, including for veterans who have been raped or whose pregnancy is threatening their health.

In the letter, Goodlander and her colleagues explained how the rule is a betrayal of the women veterans who’ve sacrificed everything for our country:

“This incredibly dangerous and reckless rule change will take away essential health care for veterans and beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA),” the lawmakers wrote in their public comment letter responding to the proposed rule. “For the past three years, these patients have been able to obtain comprehensive pregnancy counseling, including information about abortion services, and abortion care in cases of rape, incest, or life or health endangerment. This proposed rule seriously calls into question whether the Department is putting political allegiances and culture wars ahead of its sacred obligation to deliver quality, life-saving health care to veterans, including the more than 462,000 women veterans of reproductive age enrolled in VA health care.”

This letter was endorsed by: Reproductive Freedom for All, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Women’s Law Center, Minority Veterans of America, Power to Decide, the National Partnership for Women & Families, Physicians for Reproductive Health, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Guttmacher Institute,  the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Service Women’s Action Network. 

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