A veterans advocacy organization sued the Trump administration Thursday over a Department of Veterans Affairs rule that eliminates abortion services for former service members and their dependents, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by the Associated Press.
The suit, filed by Minority Veterans of America with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, asks the court to invalidate a rule the VA finalized on Dec. 31, 2025. The rule reinstates a near-total ban on abortion access within the VA healthcare system, reversing a 2022 Biden administration policy that had made the service available for the first time.
Attorneys for the group argue the VA adopted the change without citing medical evidence or other justifications, putting the rule in conflict with the Administrative Procedures Act, the federal law that governs how agencies may write and implement regulations. The suit says the eliminated coverage was “crucial for the health, autonomy, and equality of veterans and their family members,” according to the complaint language quoted by the AP.
The VA provided no abortion coverage at all until 2022. Then-President Joe Biden’s administration added the benefit months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, as Republican-led states moved rapidly to restrict or ban the procedure within their borders. The policy shift meant that veterans and dependents enrolled in VA care — including those stationed or residing in states where abortion had become illegal — retained access through the federal system.
The Trump administration’s Dec. 31 rule reversed that access. The lawsuit, filed May 21, represents the first direct legal challenge to the VA rule as applied to veterans’ healthcare. It joins a widening docket of federal litigation over Trump administration healthcare policies, including MSI’s prior reporting on court rulings over the abortion pill mifepristone, federal employee complaints over gender-affirming care insurance bans, and state lawsuits over vaccine recommendation rollbacks.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has jurisdiction over rulemaking challenges brought against the VA. No hearing date has been set. The VA has not commented on the pending litigation.