US to offer military veterans limited abortion access

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Sep 2022 23:00

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Friday that pregnant veterans will have limited access to abortions.

Demonstrators protest against the Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade.

The United States will ensure that its military veterans have restricted access to abortion, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday, in the latest effort by the Biden administration to preserve the procedure's legality.

It comes after the US Supreme Court threw down the country's decades-old constitutional right to abortion in June, returning the decision to individual states.

The department "will provide access to abortions when the life or health of the pregnant Veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest," it said in a statement.

The department "is taking steps to guarantee Veterans and other VA beneficiaries abortion-related care anywhere in the country," the statement said.

Doctors will be able to conduct abortions even if their state of employment prohibits it, according to the department's statement.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion rights, thirteen states have prohibited or severely restricted access to abortion since the Supreme Court decision.

Indiana becomes first US state to approve abortion ban post Roe

The state of Indiana, which was among the earliest to argue for tighter abortion laws, has become the first state in the United States to pass new legislation that restricts access to abortions since the federal supreme court overturned Roe v Wade.

The bill was submitted to the state’s Republican governor, Eric Holcomb, who signed it into law Friday night.

The ban includes some exceptions, such as in cases of incest and rape, and if the patient's physical health is jeopardized.