Democrats Use CRA to Challenge VA Abortion Ban

Congressional Democrats on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees are introducing Congressional Review Act resolutions to overturn the Trump administration’s new Department of Veterans Affairs rule that bans abortion services for veterans and their dependents, even in cases of rape, incest or serious threats to the mother’s health. The rule, formally submitted to Congress on Jan. 15 after a Dec. 18 Justice Department memo declared Biden‑era VA abortion protections legally unsound, ended limited abortion counseling and care that had been available since 2022. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Patty Murray and Reps. Mark Takano and Julia Brownley are leading the CRA effort, and Senate Democrats plan to use a 30‑signature discharge petition to force a floor vote as early as next week, though the resolutions are almost certain to fail in GOP‑controlled chambers and would need President Trump’s signature. Democrats say the point is to put Republicans on record on denying abortion even in the most extreme cases for women veterans and to spotlight what they call a broader national push to restrict abortion access. The fight adds a new front to the post‑Dobbs policy war by tying veterans’ health benefits directly to the administration’s evolving abortion stance.