Women Who Serve Also Face the Trump Administration’s Misogyny
Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population, more than 2 million strong today.
As the war in Iran rages on another week, 13 United States armed service members have been killed, three of them women. Nearly 20 percent of those currently serving across the entire U.S. military are women — who also represent the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population, more than 2 million strong today.
Not surprisingly, women who serve are also a direct target of the misogyny of the Trump administration. This week’s column closes out Women’s History Month with a round-up of related news and a personal statement of deep gratitude to the women who put their lives on the line for this country.
Abortion and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): As of the close of 2025, the VA announced it would immediately stop providing abortions and related counseling to pregnant veterans, even in instances of rape, incest, or health emergencies — including in those states that protect abortion rights. In the same memorandum, the VA stripped abortion care and counseling from the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), the widely used benefits program covering veterans’ dependents and family members.
All told, the VA rules amount to one of the strictest abortion bans in the country — more restrictive than the policies for those who rely on Medicaid, as well as for people incarcerated in federal prisons. And the VA impacts a wide-ranging and growing swath of the U.S. population: Nearly half a million female veterans of reproductive age are enrolled in VA healthcare plans; more than 112,000 impacted women are enrolled in CHAMPVA.
Last week, the Senate fell short in advancing a motion to reinstate VA coverage of abortion care and counseling — losing in a 50-48 vote that included support from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Remarked Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who championed the effort: “Republicans just voted to uphold an abortion ban for 462,000 women veterans — even in cases of rape, incest, or if their health is endangered. Many of them suffer from service-connected disabilities that increase the risks associated with pregnancy, and many have experienced military sexual trauma during their time of service. To betray them and take away this kind of health care — their ability to receive an abortion in the most harrowing situation — is unconscionable.”
It is such a tremendous betrayal. As Serra Sippel of the Brigid Alliance and Janessa Goldbeck of Vet Voice Foundation wrote for MS NOW, “This is an abandonment of the people we promised to protect.”
Health and Equity Legislation: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently called for a six-month review of women in combat, making plain what he’s said on the airwaves for years: He wants women out. Firing back last week were Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran from Pennsylvania, and Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a Navy Reserve veteran from New Hampshire — the only female veterans in the U.S. House — by introducing new legislation in honor of Women’s History Month. The WARRIOR Act would codify the role of women in combat and protect women’s ability to serve through the creation of true gender-neutral standards.
Meanwhile, the Military Officers Association of America issued a strong statement in support of a bevy of bills live in Congress squarely focused on veteran women’s health; it is heartening to see these rounded up in one place, many of which are bicameral and bipartisan. As the MOAA described the bills:
Servicewomen and Women Veterans Menopause Research Act (H.R. 2717 | S. 1320) would require Pentagon and VA officials to assess existing research and fill knowledge gaps related to menopause, perimenopause, and “mid-life women’s health,” to include service in general and the effects of toxic exposure in particular.
Improving Menopause Care for Veterans Act (H.R. 219) requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on VA menopause care that would recommend improvements to both the quality of and access to such care.
Building Resources and Access for Veterans’ Mental Health Engagement (BRAVE) Act (H.R. 6024 | S. 609) would improve VA outreach on gender-specific mental health risks while expanding Vet Center capacity and extending suicide prevent grants.
Improving VA Training for Military Sexual Trauma Claims Act (H.R. 2201) would require updated training for VA employees and contractors. (The bill passed the House in May 2025.)
Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act (H.R. 2576 | S. 1245) would expand military sexual trauma care and benefits to include improved VA communications practices.
Hegseth’s So-Called Meritocracy: The New York Times published a bombshell of a story last week, reporting that Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked the military promotion of at least four officers, all of whom are women or Black men, to become one-star generals. Of course this is not shocking, given Hegseth has disrespected women and sounded off about it since well before Day One on the job. I’d expect nothing less. But perhaps a little more startling: A top Hegseth aide allegedly informed a senior Army official point blank that President Donald Trump would not want to be seen with or stand next to a Black female officer at military events.
We’ve reached the point in the plot where they no longer worry about saying the quiet part out loud. We need to call them out every single time. The nation’s safety and security depend on it, as much as does our democracy.
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU School of Law. She also leads strategy and partnerships at Ms. Magazine.
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I know of one servicewoman who was raped by a colleague, and in this misogynistic climate, that behavior gets a green light. That we have not yet addressed the repeal of Roe is really our nation's greatest failing of its own citizens.