The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to halt nearly all abortions performed at VA medical centers and to stop covering the cost of the procedure for beneficiaries of its health program for spouses and dependents.

In a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, the VA said it planned to return to regulations that were in place until September 2022 -- excluding abortions from its medical services coverage unless the pregnancy threatened the life of the mother.

Three months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protections for abortion rights in June 2022, the VA announced it would offer abortion services to veterans and eligible dependents in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the life or health of the mother.

At the time, then-VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the department had the legal authority to offer the procedure and that it was obligated to do so to ensure that veterans had the same access to abortions as offered by the Defense Department.

VA officials said in Monday's announcement, however, that the department's 2022 rule was "inappropriate" and also "legally questionable."

"The last administration used [the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization] to do the exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to state law," stated the notice, signed by VA Secretary Doug Collins.

U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemning her agency’s treatment of Sae Joon Park, a Hawaii veteran and Purple Heart recipient who was ordered to “self-deport ” to South Korea in June after more than five decades living in the United States.

Blumenthal is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and Hirono (D- Hawaii ) has served on the committee for years.

“While DHS press releases frequently claim that this administration is going after ‘the worst of the worst, ’ your department’s actions towards this veteran say otherwise, ” the lawmakers wrote in the Friday letter. “As members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, we ask why your department chose to treat someone who has fought for our country in this way.”

Park was born in South Korea but came to the U.S. at age 7 and grew up in Los Angeles before joining the U.S. Army at age 19.

After being seriously wounded in combat in Panama in 1989 and leaving the Army with an honorable discharge, he struggled with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and self-medicated with drugs, leading to a years-long struggle with addiction.

He jumped bail in New York after being arrested for trying to buy crack cocaine and was again arrested in Hawaii and extradited. He was convicted of misdemeanor drug charges, but the bail-jumping conviction was regarded as a felony and prompted federal authorities to revoke his green card. When he was released from prison, immigration officials issued Park a removal order.

But they ultimately issued a deferment that allowed him to stay in the country as long as he attended regular check-ins with federal agents. His military service and later good behavior in prison made him a low priority for deportation. He has been clean ever since.