Army Veteran Nurse Who Opposes Abortion Wins Religious Accommodation to Rule Providing Abortions and Counseling

Stephanie Carter, a Christian, a U.S. Army veteran, and a nurse practitioner, works for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center in Temple, Texas.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the VA implemented a new rule last September to provide abortion counseling and abortions for pregnant veterans and beneficiaries if the woman’s life or health is in danger or in cases of rape or incest.

The VA had not provided abortions before September 2022. A federal law passed in 1992 blocks the VA from killing unborn babies as a medical service.

Carter twice sought a religious accommodation to this rule, but the VA claimed no such accommodation was available. She filed a lawsuit last December on the grounds that the rule violates her religious beliefs. Texas bans abortions after six weeks, so Carter could have been in legal jeopardy under state law.

Carter’s legal counsel, First Liberty Institute, announced that Carter has won her accommodation.

First Liberty Institute today announced that Stephanie Carter’s lawsuit against the VA resulted in a nationwide religious accommodation process for VA employees with religious objections to being forced to participate in abortions. Carter is a nurse practitioner at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center in Temple, Texas. (Emphasis added)

In light of this outcome, First Liberty has withdrawn the lawsuit.

The Washington Times reported that the VA claimed a religious accommodation has been available since the rule was issued in September 2022. So why did the agency turn down Stephanie Carter’s request for one twice?

“What’s more, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis R. McDonough failed to mention the existence of religious accommodation when asked about the Carter lawsuit at a press conference in March.”

Photo credit: First Liberty Institute