Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696597175905.pdf (United States)
October 11, 2022 Mr. Michael P. Shores Director Office of Regulation Policy and Management Office of General Counsel U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Room 1063B Washington, DC 20420 Re: RIN 2900-AR57-Reproductive Health Services Dear Mr. Shores, We write to comment on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) interim final rule (IFR) entitled Reproductive Health Services, 87 Fed Reg 55287 (September 9, 2022) that will allow VA to provide abortion counseling, and, in some cases, abortions, to pregnant veterans and Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) beneficiaries.
We thank VA for taking critical action to protect the life and health of veterans by issuing this IFR and urge the Department to ensure that all veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries have access to abortion in the final rule.

In doing so, VA would honor its promise to promote, preserve, and restore the health of patients.

Like others across the country, veterans face significant barriers to care as extremist lawmakers continue to work to decimate abortion access.
Just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, dozens of states across the country are enforcing and/or passing total or near total abortion bans, with more expected to do so imminently.

This is of grave concern as access to abortion care is essential to a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her health and well-being.

Denying someone an abortion can greatly harm their health and future.
Women who are denied abortions report more life-threatening complications and chronic health conditions than those who are able to access abortion care.

While most women will have healthy pregnancies, some will experience illness or conditions that can cause serious problems.

When abortion is difficult or impossible to access, complicated health conditions can worsen and even result in death.
Being denied an abortion also has devastating effects for women’s financial well-being, even pushing some families into poverty.

The harms of abortion-specific restrictions are even more burdensome on women who already face barriers to accessing health care, including women with low incomes, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, young people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community, and those living in rural and other medically underserved areas.
VA has a duty to ensure access to care for those who have served, and we commend this effort to honor that promise.

The IFR is an important first action to ensuring access to this care by providing abortion care for veterans and eligible family members in cases of rape, incest, and in cases of life or health endangerment of the pregnant person.

This is especially critical for VA beneficiaries given the high rates of military sexual trauma for service members.
Everyone should be able to access abortion care, no matter why they need it or where they obtain their care.

There are many reasons why someone might need an abortion, and all of them are valid.

We therefore urge VA to continue to work ensure that veterans can seamlessly access full coverage of abortion care, regardless of the circumstances.
Page 2 We thank you for your attention to this issue, and we look forward to working together to ensure that our veterans and their families have full access to the health care that they deserve.

If we can be of further assistance, please contact Acree Trivett in the Office of Representative Lois Frankel at Acree.Trivett@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-9890.
Sincerely, Lois Frankel Co-Chair Democratic Women's Caucus Jackie Speier Co-Chair Democratic Women's Caucus Brenda L. Lawrence Co-Chair Democratic Women's Caucus Sylvia Garcia Vice Chair Democratic Women's Caucus Veronica Escobar Vice Chair Democratic Women's Caucus Sara Jacobs Freshman Representative Democratic Women's Caucus Nikema Williams Whip Democratic Women's Caucus Diana DeGette Co-Chair, Pro-Choice Caucus Barbara Lee Co-Chair of Pro-Choice Caucus Mazie K. Hirono United States Senator Elizabeth Warren United States Senator Charles E. Schumer United States Senator Page 3 Eleanor Holmes Norton Member of Congress Sheila Jackson Lee Member of Congress Debbie Wasserman Schultz Member of Congress Judy Chu Member of Congress Gerald E. Connolly Member of Congress Jan Schakowsky Member of Congress Cheri Bustos Member of Congress Jason Crow Member of Congress Emanuel Cleaver, II Member of Congress Doris Matsui Member of Congress Marilyn Strickland Member of Congress Deborah K. Ross Member of Congress Susan Wild Member of Congress Yvette D. Clarke Member of Congress Nanette Diaz Barragán Member of Congress Page 4 Karen Bass Member of Congress Chellie Pingree Member of Congress Linda T. Sánchez Member of Congress William R. Keating Member of Congress Katie Porter Member of Congress Ann McLane Kuster Member of Congress Norma J. Torres Member of Congress David J. Trone Member of Congress Raúl M. Grijalva Member of Congress Nydia M. Velázquez Member of Congress Adam Smith Member of Congress Jamie Raskin Member of Congress Anthony G. Brown Member of Congress Grace Meng Member of Congress Bonnie Watson Coleman Member of Congress Page 5 Darren Soto Member of Congress Danny K. Davis Member of Congress Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Member of Congress James P. McGovern Member of Congress Tammy Duckworth United States Senator Steve Cohen Member of Congress Haley M. Stevens Member of Congress Adriano Espaillat Member of Congress Lloyd Doggett Member of Congress Tammy Baldwin United States Senator Jahana Hayes Member of Congress Julia Brownley Member of Congress Lisa Blunt Rochester Member of Congress Kathy Castor Member of Congress Bernard Sanders United States Senator Page 6 Melanie Stansbury Member of Congress Andy Levin Member of Congress Salud Carbajal Member of Congress Earl Blumenauer Member of Congress John Garamendi Member of Congress