CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey recently joined a coalition of 15 attorneys general in a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough challenging a new rule providing access to abortions and abortion counseling at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries.
“This administration needs to stop circumventing rulings from the United States Supreme Court to push its liberal agenda,” Morrisey said. “The issue of abortion are left up to the states, and the Supreme Court was very clear on that.
“I am proud to stand for the most vulnerable of our society and the sanctity of life."
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and returning the authority to regulate abortion to the states.
Later that day, Morrisey says President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing a cross-government initiative to undo the Supreme Court’s decision.
In response to Biden’s directive, the VA on September 9 adopted a new interim rule that makes taxpayer-funded abortions and abortion counseling available for certain veterans and beneficiaries. Those services previously had been expressly excluded from the medical benefits package under VA regulations.
In their letter, the AGs put McDonough on notice that they are prepared to act if the Biden administration uses this rule to circumvent state laws regulating abortion.
“We will not allow you to use this rule to erect a regime of elective abortions that defy state laws. We stand ready to move decisively against departures from the rule’s terms or its promises,” the letter states. “And we will enforce our duly enacted state laws and hold you accountable for violations of federal law.
"Those who perform abortions based on the interim final rule—and in defiance of state or federal laws – do so at their own risk.”
Morrisey joined the Mississippi-led letter with attorneys general from Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
