A woman who was instrumental in the overturning of Roe v. Wade has filed an amicus brief with other pro-life elected officials in opposition of abortion policies at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that allegedly overrule religious liberties and states' rights.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 17 other attorneys general filed an amicus brief Tuesday in the Western District of Texas in the case of Carter v. McDonough. The brief supports 23-year VA nurse practitioner Stephanie Carter, a self-described Christian who is employed at the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Temple, Texas—which serves more than 7,000 female patients annually.

In addition to Mississippi, the brief was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

"In direct contravention of the Supreme Court's opinion in Dobbs, President Biden has taken abortion policy away from state legislators, Congress, and, most importantly, the people and given it to political appointees in his own administration," Fitch said. "The Dobbs decision was about the rule of law. This VA rule is precisely the opposite."
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Legal filings from the U.S. Army veteran's initial lawsuit filed December 13 stated that Carter cannot "cannot perform, prescribe, or counsel for abortions, or work in a facility that performs abortion services for reasons other than to save the life of the mother because...unborn babies are created in the image of God and should be protected."

Carter's lawsuit was filed by the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit Christian conservative legal group based in Texas.

The lawsuit stemmed from a VA rule that began in September to "provide access to abortion counseling and—in certain cases—abortions to pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries." That includes abortion access 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.

The amicus brief claims the VA does not have the legal authority it claimed to use in support of this rule. The attorneys general wrote that "rather than respect the Constitution and the Supreme Court's decision, the Biden Administration has sought to wrest control over abortion back from the people."
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"This is a patient safety decision," said VA Secretary Denis McDonough, the defendant in the lawsuit, at that time. "Pregnant Veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve to have access to world-class reproductive care when they need it most. That's what our nation owes them, and that's what we at VA will deliver."

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, VA's undersecretary for health, said the decision was reached after hearing concerns from VA healthcare providers and veterans across the country "who sounded the alarm that abortion restrictions are creating a medical emergency for those we serve."

In a brief filed Tuesday, McDonough maintained the VA policy should remain in effect and alleged that Carter was specifically informed that she is not required to personally provide abortion care, including performing, prescribing, or counseling for abortion.

New VA guidelines issued earlier this month clarified the religious exemption process for staffers at facilities that perform abortions, Military Times reported.

Memos included updated provisions as part of the existing policy that "physicians, residents, fellows, and medical students may, for any reason, opt out of performing induced abortions, receiving or providing training in the performance of induced abortions, providing referrals for such training or such abortions, or making arrangements for training or performance of induced abortions."