On October 10, 2022, Kaplan Hecker & Fink attorneys submitted a memo to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on behalf of Vet Voice Foundation addressing the VA’s recently issued abortion care rule.
The memo argues that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs was indisputably acting within his authority in providing needed abortion-related medical care to Veterans and other beneficiaries under the VA’s Civilian Health and Medical Program (CHAMPVA). It also lays out the legal basis for the Secretary's authority to go further by authorizing all abortion care to pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries. The memo also calls on the Secretary to ensure that VA facilities across the country provide CHAMPVA beneficiaries access to abortion care through the In-House Treatment Program, and to issue guidance to VA facilities across the country to ensure that individuals who are not veterans or CHAMPVA beneficiaries – including civilians and active-duty service members – can also access emergency abortion care in appropriate circumstances.
Read the full memo here.