Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter opposing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) proposed federal rule that would eliminate abortion care and counseling at VA facilities and from benefits packages for veterans and their families.

“Those who have served in the military have made countless sacrifices to protect our freedoms and deserve the protection of their rights to reproductive freedom,” Raoul said. “That’s why I am joining my fellow attorneys general to advocate for access to abortion care for veterans and their families, regardless of what state they live in. I will not stop defending their rights, and the rights of all women, to access abortion care.”

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration implemented the “Reproductive Health Services Rule,” which currently allows veterans and their survivors and dependents to access abortion services at VA health care centers in situations where the patient’s life or health is threatened and in cases of self-reported rape or incest. The current rule also permits veterans and their survivors and dependents to access abortion counseling at VA health centers. In October 2022, Raoul joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing a comment letter supporting the VA’s efforts to increase reproductive freedom. 

After the Trump administration indicated it was reviewing the Reproductive Health Services Rule and held meetings with other stakeholders, staff from Raoul’s office and the offices of a coalition of attorneys general met with VA officials and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in April to express why rolling back the rule would cause harm to veterans and their families. In August, the Trump administration published a proposed rule to formally undo the Biden administration’s rule. 

In their letter, Raoul and the attorneys general write that the proposed rule presents an unclear standard as to when, if at all, VA physicians can provide abortion care. In particular, the proposed rule fails to create a clear process for when a provider may perform an abortion to save the life of the patient. As experience has shown in restrictive states, unclear “life-only” exceptions result in patients experiencing life-threatening outcomes exacerbated by unnecessary delays or the refusal of treatment, suffering intense trauma, and several have even died preventable deaths.

Raoul and the attorneys general argue that the proposed rule is extreme in its formulation and is out of step with existing abortion exceptions on the state and federal level. The VA’s proposed changes would mark a substantial and inhumane departure from decades of policy protecting the health and lives of pregnant patients and the autonomy of pregnant patients who have experienced rape and incest. The coalition also asserts that the proposed rule is inadequately justified. It falsely claims that the VA does not have legal authority to provide abortion care, obfuscates other federal abortion policy to improperly establish congressional intent for a VA abortion ban, and relies on political considerations instead of medical ones.

Attorney General Raoul has been a strong advocate for access to reproductive care. In Illinois, he initiated or supported legislative proposals to preserve Illinois as a reproductive health care oasis, issued guidance to inform Illinois residents of their rights, and sent a letter to law enforcement clarifying that abortion is not criminalized in Illinois. More broadly, Raoul has often joined his fellow state attorneys general to oppose draconian abortion regulations in other states. Most recently, Raoul advocated for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, and spoke out about the need to protect health care providers from risky in-person medical board certification requirements. In 2023, Raoul filed a lawsuit to preserve access to mifepristone for patients in Illinois. In 2024, Raoul, as part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general, filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to protect access to medication abortion nationwide. The court’s ruling ultimately preserved access to medication abortion.
 
Throughout his time in office, he has also defended Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning and counseling programs to help patients access contraception, as well as breast and cervical cancer screenings, screenings and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, and other related health services.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in sending the comment letter are the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.