On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a resolution to overturn a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rule that turned VA medical facilities into de facto abortion clinics. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville will lead a bipartisan group of Senators in voting for the resolution he co-authored. In February, Senator Tuberville and Congressman Michael Cloud introduced a bicameral resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse the rule.
“Using our VA medical facilities to provide taxpayer-funded abortions is illegal and wrong,” said Sen. Tuberville. “The VA’s new policy is a blatant violation of federal law. It forces taxpayers to fund abortions at VA facilities. And it provides limited conscience protections for doctors and nurses with religious objections to performing abortions. This rule is wrong on every level, and a bipartisan majority in Congress will stand up to overturn it.”
The resolution has 35 Senate cosponsors and 51 cosponsors in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. The resolution has been endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro Life-America, Heritage Action for America, National Right to Life, Catholic Vote, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Family Research Council, Family Policy Alliance, and March for Life Action.
“I agree that the Department of Defense’s policy is atrocious, and it is a departure from a decades-long understanding of federal public policy,” said Sen. John Thune.
SBA Pro-Life American wrote on Facebook, “Thank you, Senator Thom Tillis, for joining Senator Tommy Tuberville in standing against DOD’s illegal new policy funding abortion travel with taxpayer dollars.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote on their website: “Abortion is a marginal practice, neither performed nor accepted by most health care providers; it does not improve (and can even jeopardize) women’s life and health; and American law has recognized for decades that it is not “just another medical procedure.” Far from being integral to our health care system, abortion is something that supporters seek to impose on that system by force of law.”
Before the vote, Senator Tuberville will lead a bipartisan group of senators to urge passage of the resolution at a press conference.
On September 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced its intention to begin providing abortion services for veterans and their dependents through the taxpayer-funded VA healthcare system. This seemingly blatantly violates Section 106 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, which explicitly prohibits the VA from providing abortion services.
Tuberville joined a letter with 38 colleagues following that announcement denouncing the decision.
Tuberville says the policy defies an existing statute limiting abortions at VA facilities.
Tuberville is in his first term representing Alabama in the U.S. Senate following his 2020 election – defeating incumbent Democrat Senator Doug Jones.
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