A new lawsuit filed on behalf of military veterans challenges the abortion ban put in place last year by the Trump administration, which resulted in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) eliminating abortion-related care and counseling.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court by Minority Veterans of America (MVA), represented by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and Democracy Forward, claiming the ban not only negatively impacts female service members but also contradicts President Donald Trump’s previous promises to leave abortion laws to states. Instead, the VA has minimized abortion care access after expanding it in 2022 under the Biden administration.
“This lawsuit is about protecting veterans’ access to comprehensive health care, including the full range of care and medical guidance they deserve through the VA,” said Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America, in a statement shared with Military.com.
“Our community includes veterans with complex medical histories, those who have experienced pregnancy complications, and survivors of sexual violence and trauma—all of whom need access to abortion care and counseling to protect their health.”
Veterans have already sacrificed for this country, and no one should be denied life-saving, medically necessary care or have those decisions dictated by politics instead of made between a patient and their provider.
Quinn Slaven, spokesperson for the VA, told Military.com on Friday that the agency does not typically comment on pending litigation. Efforts to receive a response from the White House were unsuccessful.
The ban is described by plaintiffs as “the most restrictive abortion ban among federal programs, and one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.” The VA, according to its own data, provides health care at 1,380 health care facilities across all 50 states, serving more than 9 million enrolled veterans per year.
This ban also applies in cases of rape, incest or when a woman faces serious health risks due to her pregnancy. Since the ban is federally enforced, and the VA is the federal government’s largest health care provider, the ban supersedes state-level laws that may legally allow abortion.
“Military service members undertake significant personal sacrifices— including risks to their lives and health, immense physical and mental strain, and time away from their loved ones—to serve and protect our country,” says the lawsuit, shared with Military.com. “When those individuals return home from service, our nation promises to provide them and their families with quality, comprehensive and equitable health care as befits those profound sacrifices.
“The decision by the VA to eliminate abortion care and abortion counseling from the health care provided to veterans and their families is a betrayal of this promise. This essential medical care is particularly important for veterans and their families, yet VA has imposed a ban on abortion services that is the strictest in the entire federal government,” the 64-page lawsuit adds.
Lawsuit Alleges ‘Stunning Reversal’ in Federal Regulation
This newest legal challenge comes roughly six months after the Trump administration rolled back abortion access and counseling at the VA, as part of a new policy accelerated by a U.S. Department of Justice opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
That late December 2025 DOJ opinion came approximately 3 1/2 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Dobbs opinion that overturned federal protections for abortion rights. The VA followed that opinion, rolling back exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or for cases where the life or health of the pregnant individual was endangered.
Today, the only exception granted by all national VA facilities in abortion-related instances is to allow the procedure in cases involving life-threatening medical emergencies.
“Denying our nation’s veterans dignity and bodily autonomy after they have risked their lives to defend our country is ruthless and unpatriotic,” Kaitlyn Golden, senior counsel at Democracy Forward, said in a statement shared with Military.com. “We are committed to using every legal tool at our disposal to fight on behalf of veterans and their families and overturn this malicious nationwide ban.”
Plaintiffs describe access to the limited abortion care provided by the 2022 Rule as “crucial for the health, autonomy and equality of veterans and their family members, especially those who live in states with restrictive abortion laws or who have become pregnant as a result of sexual violence.”
Access to abortion counseling helped ensure that veterans and their family members received advice, information and options to make fully informed health care decisions, they added.
‘Direct Threat to My Health’
The lawsuit mentions how despite the submission of thousands of comments from veterans, health care providers, advocacy organizations and other members of the public opposing the VA cuts to such services, the VA still issued its Final Rule at the end of 2025.
The lawsuit claims that said rule violates Administrative Procedure Act in multiple ways, including “an abuse of discretion because it relies on a purported statutory ‘restriction’ that is not applicable, and in any event has been superseded.” Also, they claim the VA’s lack of any explanation for the change was “arbitrary and capricious.” In turn, MVA is calling on the court to set aside the 2025 Final Rule due to being unlawful.
Veterans themselves are part of the lawsuit. That includes one female veteran who has anonymously adjoined herself to the litigation.
“I have several chronic health conditions and a complex medical history, including a history of pregnancy complications,” the veteran said in remarks provided to Military.com. “VA’s ban on abortion care and counseling is a direct threat to my health and my ability to parent my existing children and a betrayal of the sacrifices I have made for my country.”
When contacted about the abortion rollback in January, a VA spokesperson directed Military.com to the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, citing how its medical benefits package excluded abortions and abortion counseling in most circumstances since 1999.
Lucy Zhou, senior litigation counsel and NWLC’s lead attorney on the case, said in remarks provided to Military.com that due to the ongoing ban, one of MVA’s clients finds herself in a high-risk pregnancy where she cannot access the full scope of pregnancy care she requires.
“We are eager to use every tool available to fight on behalf of our client, their members, and all veterans and their families to reverse this cruel ban,” Zhou said.
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