Published March 17, 2025
On Tuesday, March 17, 2025, EPPC scholars Rachel N. Morrison and Natalie Dodson met with government officials in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) to discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) forthcoming interim final rule (IFR) “Reproductive Health Services.”
The IFR has the same name as a 2024 Final Rule issued by the VA that mandated taxpayer-funded medical benefits coverage of abortion and abortion counseling for veterans and certain beneficiaries. The scholars urged the government officials to use the IFR to rescind the 2024 Final Rule, which the scholars previously opposed in comments submitted to the VA and EOP (here and here).
As the scholars explained in their meeting, the 2024 Final Rule was a political response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and state laws protecting unborn children. The Final Rule suffered from many deficiencies, including violating federal law which explicitly prohibits the VA from providing abortion benefits. These deficiencies support rescission of the Final Rule.
The scholars also pointed out that rescission of the Final Rule aligns with President Trump’s policy priorities and executive actions, including stopping taxpayer funding of abortion, protecting conscience and religious freedom rights, and eliminating unlawful regulations.
A written version of their comments, submitted to EOP’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is available here (PDF).
Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project. An attorney, her legal and policy work focuses on religious liberty, health care rights of conscience, the right to life, nondiscrimination, and civil rights.
