Representatives Julia Brownley (D-California), Center, and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) learn how VA Houston’s staff plans to meet the reproductive health care needs of the more than 12,000 female veterans who rely on the facility for care. ( Twitter photo)
House Democrats are gathering feedback from veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs on reproductive health care, the latest wave of congressional pushback over abortion rights.
In a press release Thursday afternoon, Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee announced a new "effort" to provide reproductive health care to veterans.
So far, the initiative has included multiple visits to VA facilities and veterans organizations, as well as hearings with committee members and staff in Texas and Oklahoma, according to the release. Both states have mostly banned abortions after the Supreme Court struck down abortion rights nationwide.
It's unclear what the committee plans to do with the information it collects, including whether lawmakers will issue a report or introduce new legislation, with committee spokesman Miguel Salazar saying only that "we have a plan, but it's not at the stage yet." ] Begin widespread distribution."
"At this point, we are focused on continuing to gather information and hear from veterans across the country," Salazar said in an email.
Posts on the committee's Twitter account showed that Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Julia Brownlee, D-Calif., and other committee members held meetings earlier this month in Dallas, Houston, Austin and Oklahoma City.
Brownlee said in a statement: "Without clear, state-specific guidance from Virginia providers in Virginia medical facilities face tremendous uncertainty and frustration with limited powers and restrictions. , these restrictions limit their ability to provide optimal care to veterans," in the release. "As attacks on reproductive rights escalate and bodily autonomy continues to be threatened, veterans are rightly feeling anxious and depressed about the future of their reproductive health care."
The committee also posted a survey on its website to To collect information from veterans about their experiences with reproductive health care in VA. A spokesperson for the
committee told Military.com that the survey had a "soft" launch in late July and had already received a number of responses, but did not provide specific numbers.
It's unclear what other actions might be part of the effort, including where the committee could conduct on-site visits and whether public hearings would be held, though Salazar vowed "we plan to continue to aggressively work on this issue throughout the fall." ".
Brownlee, who also chairs the Women Veterans Task Force, introduced a bill last year that would have required the VA to provide abortion counseling to veterans with unintended pregnancies.
The committee's latest effort comes amid a broader Democratic push for access to abortion for service members and veterans, after the Supreme Court's June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned 50 years of Roe v. Wade precedent guaranteeing abortion rights nationwide. Abortion services. Nearly two dozen states have moved to ban or severely restrict abortion in the wake of the .
ruling, although some have been temporarily blocked by courts from enforcing bans.
The Democratic push also comes ahead of November's midterm elections, in which Democrats hope to leverage opposition to the Supreme Court ruling to defy expectations that they will at least lose control of the House of Representatives. Since the ruling, Democrats have spent about $31.9 million on ads talking about abortion, the New York Times reported.
VA does not generally provide abortion or abortion counseling, except when the mother's life is at risk due to the pregnancy. This is more restrictive than the Department of Defense, which allows abortions in cases of rape and incest and when the mother's life is in danger.
Last month, Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough said the department was "closely watching" state actions to determine whether steps would be taken to provide abortion services to veteran patients. He argued that the law does not prohibit the department from covering abortions, but because the procedure is not included in the health benefits package, the VA would need to go through a lengthy formal federal rulemaking process before it can provide abortions.
Republicans have challenged the VA's interpretation of the law, saying the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 prohibits the VA from providing abortion services. The law directs VA to provide reproductive health care services, except " infertility services, abortion, or pregnancy care," unless such care is needed due to a condition related to the service.
After McDonough’s comments, 25 Senate Democrats wrote him a letter urging him to “immediately begin work on rules that would allow veterans and eligible dependents to receive abortions and all abortion-related services.”
"We believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs has the statutory authority and discretion to provide abortion and abortion-related services and resources," they wrote. "Importantly, the VA utilizes its authority to provide abortion and abortion-related services and resources in 1996." Authority under the 2006 Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act to provide reproductive care, such as pregnancy care and infertility services, even though such care was initially excluded from health care packages allowed under the VA . 1992. "
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