The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical system has performed its first abortion at one of its medical centers.
The news comes a few weeks after President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs would provide abortions in special circumstances for eligible veterans and beneficiaries following the Supreme Court's June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough testified before the Veterans Affairs Committee that a VA medical center had carried out the abortion procedure.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., had asked McDonough how many abortions had been performed at VA facilities.
The woman's name and place of the procedure cannot be released for privacy reasons.
Under the VA rule, the VA can provide abortions in cases of rape, incest or if the woman's life is in danger. According to The Christian Post, about 300,000 women in the VA are of childbearing age.
The new rule was reviewed by the Justice Department and found to be a "lawful exercise of VA's authority," McDonough said. He also noted per the Constitution, state officials cannot penalize VA employees for "performing their federal functions."
"The principle that led us to take this step is our veteran patient safety," McDonough said. "We take that very, very seriously, and every decision we make flows from that principle.
"Pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve to have access to world-class reproductive care when they need it most," he said. "That's what our nation owes them, and that's what we at VA will deliver."
A proposed rule for the VA would "ensure that, irrespective of what laws or policies States may impose, veterans who receive the care set forth in the medical benefits package will be able to obtain abortions, if determined needed by a health care professional, when the life or the health of the pregnant veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term or the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest."
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/September15
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
