CV NEWS FEED // A leaked internal memo obtained by CatholicVote from the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has exposed the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) for promoting extensive abortion propaganda to veterans and staff.
In addition to the memo, CatholicVote acquired a staff training video describing abortions as “opportunities for growth” and instructing employees that both men and women can become pregnant.
The video also invites participants to think of ways to encourage expectant mothers to abort their babies, but in a “sensitive, inclusive, and affirming” way.
CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky commented, “While unsurprising, these materials confirm that the Biden administration’s VA is thumbing its nose at long-standing federal law and not only funding abortions with taxpayer dollars but promoting the murder of American children.”
The VA added abortion and abortion counseling to its health insurance package in September 2022, disregarding a 1992 law that prohibits the VA from providing abortions for veterans. The coverage also violates the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which bans nearly all taxpayer-funded abortions.
>> READ MORE: EXPERTS SAY HYDE AMENDMENT HAS SAVED 2.5 M LIVES <<
According to the VA memo, the new abortion coverage allows doctors to refer veterans for abortions for the health of the mother, expanding the standard “rape and incest” exception to include mental health and lifestyle reasons.
“We will continue to urge the Biden administration to enforce the Hyde Amendment and other laws that definitively ended federal funding of abortion over 40 years ago,” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch. “But at this point, it’s clear that the current White House is occupied by people who are absolutely hostile to human life and the rule of law.”
>> SEE ALSO: CATHOLICVOTE’S ANALYSIS OF ‘RAPE AND INCEST’ CASES <<
The memo also reports that between September 2022 and February 2023, the VA funded 34 abortions in direct violation of federal law. Twenty-four were provided under the health exception, seven were provided because of rape, and one was provided due to danger to life.
Not only is the VA providing illegal abortion coverage, but it also provides “Reproductive Health Education and Training” to staff members, with 10 training videos on abortion, reproductive care, and mental health, as well as a handout on chemical abortion.
One video, “Mental Health of Abortion and Abortion Restrictions,” specifically promotes abortion as a way to support struggling mothers. The resource fails to address the health risks of abortion, and only briefly mentions the well-documented mental health risks of murdering an unborn child.
>> READ: DOES ABORTION REALLY REDUCE MATERNAL DEATHS? <<
Towards the end of the video, the presenter claims that abortions challenge women to grow in relationships, address mental health problems or stress, and “expand core beliefs.” However, the presenter neglects to acknowledge the mental and emotional harm that abortions produce in female veterans, instead presenting abortion as an empowering therapeutic tool.
