Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) & Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26) Join Free & Just Patients To Call Out Impact of Trump's Move to Ban Abortion Access for Veterans Nationwide
WATCH: In Senate testimony, RFK confirms plans to weaponize federal agencies against reproductive freedom.
WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Democratic Women’s Caucus Member Julia Brownley (CA-26) and Servicewomen, Women Veterans, and Military Families Task Force Co-Chair Congresswomen Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) joined veterans at a virtual press event to respond to the Trump administration’s plan to ban abortion care and counseling across the VA system. On August 1, the Trump Administration announced its plan to prevent veterans from accessing abortion care or counseling through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system.
The Trump administration’s proposed ban would bar veterans from getting abortion care or information through the VA—even in cases of rape, incest, or health emergencies.
“There seems to be no end to the harm this administration intends to do to the people who currently serve in uniform and to those who came before them,” said Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), a former U.S. Air Force officer who spearheads the Democratic Women’s Caucus’s work for servicewomen, veterans, and their families. “The Trump administration is politicizing medical decisions that should be strictly personal and between a woman and her doctor just to score cheap political points and hurt the health of women.”
“Make no mistake – Donald Trump and his extremist allies are using women veterans to advance an anti-choice anti-woman agenda, and inch us closer to a national abortion ban,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), who chairs the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health. “The irony is incredibly infuriating. They claim issues of reproductive health should be ‘left to the states,’ yet they’re abusing their federal power to impose their beliefs on veterans nationwide – even in states where abortion is legal.”
“For veterans, the VA is our only health care lifeline, and to take away access to abortion care is to strip away our right to decide what happens with our own bodies,” said Joanna Sweatt, an Arizona-based Marine Corps veteran who credits access to abortion care with allowing her to continue serving her country. “The fear is real. The anger is real, and the betrayal is real. We are people who raised our right hands and swore an oath to defend this country, and now we don’t have access to health care. Our dignity is on the chopping block. This is so much bigger than politics – it’s about keeping our promise to those who serve,” Sweatt, who serves as the National Organizing Director for Common Defense, added.
“Military service was an escape for me, and for so many men and women in this country, it’s an opportunity to better yourself,” said Sylvia Andersh, an Air Force veteran and first-generation Mexican immigrant who had an abortion in 1978 while on active duty. “Women veterans are facing serious attacks from this administration, and as a military spouse and a former active duty servicemember, I am devastated. We are living in fear and it’s overwhelming at times.”
You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us.
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