FIRST ON FOX: A prominent Republican senator from Alabama is aiming to increase transparency about abortions that take place within the Department of Veterans Affairs.Â
On Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville plans to introduce the VA Abortion Transparency Act of 2024, a measure that would require the VA to provide quarterly reports as well as a variety of details surrounding its involvement in abortions performed.Â
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Some of the data required under the legislation would be the number of abortions that the VA facilitated during the quarter, whether it was conducted with medication such as Mifepristone or if it was a surgical abortion, at what week during pregnancy the abortion took place, and the expenditures associated with abortions during the time frame, among other details.
“Congress has spoken. The Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 clearly prohibits the VA from providing abortion services of any kind,” Tuberville said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.Â
“For the Biden administration to twist the law into something other than what Congress intended and force the cost on the taxpayer is a disgrace. Our veterans deserve a VA that is 100% focused on ensuring they receive timely and quality care, not on implementing Joe Biden’s abortion-on-demand agenda. I am proud to introduce this bill that provides much needed transparency for taxpayers and holds the VA accountable.”
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Tuberville was at the center of controversy last year when he held up hundreds of military promotions in protest of the Department of Defense’s policies on abortion. His blockade began in February 2023 in response to a Pentagon policy providing travel expense reimbursement for abortion. He ended the hold up in December, noting he couldn’t continue due to a rule change in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) spending bill.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are joining Tuberville in his quest for transparency on abortions in the VA — they’ve signed onto his bill as co-sponsors.Â
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The legislation further has the approval of several pro-life organizations, including CatholicVote, National Right to Life, March for Life Action, Concerned Women for America and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
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Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, is introducing the measure in part because he believes taxpayers should be able to see how funds are being spent by the department, according to his office.Â
The Republican senator’s office noted that between September 2022 and September 2023, 88 abortions were facilitated through the VA, 28 of which were surgical, according to Military.com.Â
However, the VA has since been unwilling to provide more recent data despite various letters requesting such, Tuberville’s office said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said, “While VA does not comment on pending legislation, VA is committed to providing high-quality, comprehensive care to women veterans — including basic preventive care, acute care, chronic disease management, mental health care, and reproductive health care.”
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