AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The video above was published in December 2022 and relates to disparities in maternal mortality rates.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined an amicus brief led by Mississippi that supports an injunction against a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) rule that allows "elective, taxpayer-funded abortions" in certain cases.
In September, the VA adopted a new interim rule that allows veterans and beneficiaries to receive abortion counseling and, in certain cases, abortions. Before the rule was put into place, the VA had these services excluded in the medical benefits package provided to members.
The rule states that the VA will provide abortion access specifically "when the life or health of the pregnant Veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest."
In a release sent Tuesday that announced that Paxton was joining the amicus brief, his office stated that the rule "marked a sharp departure from the VA's policy" and that it "violates federal laws that prohibit the VA from providing abortion services on-demand."
"That the VA has decided to act unlawfully in lockstep with the rest of the Biden Administration and its pro-abortion agenda is deeply concerning for our federalist system of government," the release stated. "The Dobbs decision made clear that the responsibility for creating laws governing abortion rests primarily with the states, not the federal government."
Prior to joining the amicus brief, Paxton joined a Mississippi-led letter to the VA challenging the new rule. That letter, spearheaded by Mississippi AG Lynn Fitch, was also supported by the attorneys general of Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
The amicus brief, meanwhile, was led by Mississippi and supported by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.