The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) permanently adopted changes to its abortion policy on Monday, March 4.
Among the changes was a policy that it will offer abortions to veterans and their beneficiaries in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger, even in states with pro-life protections. VA doctors are now also allowed to offer abortion counseling, something that was prohibited previously. Many of the changes have unofficially been in effect since September 2022. In October 2023, the VA told Congress it had committed 88 abortions in its first year.
In a notice announcing the policy change, the VA said the policy changes were necessary to protect the lives of veterans who live in states with abortion restrictions. “These state bans and restrictions on abortion presented a serious threat to the health and lives of over one hundred thousand veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries who relied, or may rely in the future, on VA health care,” the notice published Friday said.
Contrary to this statement, pro-life laws don’t put the lives of women at risk.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services spoke against the new policy, noting that he was doing so in his capacity as Archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, and not in his capacity as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“The [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’] decision is at odds with the notion that the military protects the innocent,” Broglio told Crux in a statement. “Now, the department which was established to care for Veterans of the United States Armed Forces through service-related disabilities and retirement, affirms its decision to join what Pope Francis called ‘hit men’ – those who choose ‘to do away with a human life to solve a problem’.”
“The notion that killing an unborn child can somehow be considered ‘medical or surgical care’ certainly violates the dignity of the human person and suggests that some lives are more important than others,” he went on. “I deplore this decision that once more removes the right to life for the defenseless and inflicts untold physical and psychological trauma on mothers.”
