Abe Lincoln quote dropped by the VA because it leaves out women

The Department of Veterans Affairs has changed its mission statement and dropped a quote from President Abraham Lincoln due to its usage of male pronouns.

The original statement from 1959 featured a quote from Lincoln's second inaugural address in 1865 which was, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." 

The new statement is, "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors."

According to the VA's press release, the original statement left out other groups, whether that be women, LGBTQ or people of color.

"Whenever any Veteran, family member, caregiver, or survivor walks by a VA facility, we want them to see themselves in the mission statement on the outside of the building," said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement.

"We are here to serve all Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors and now, our mission statement reflects exactly that," he continued. 

According to reports, this change resulted after years of veterans groups saying that women don't feel comfortable in the VA and that the quote is symbolic of obstacles women have to go through in the VA system.