The Department of Defense announced Thursday that it will subsidize the transportation expenses for female soldiers and their dependents to receive abortions.
It will allocate money for “travel and transportation allowances for Service members and their dependents, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law and operational requirements, and as necessary amend any applicable travel regulations, to facilitate official travel to access non covered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of a Service member’s permanent duty station,” a Pentagon memo obtained by the Daily Signal reads.
The document reportedly said the department would financially assist in facilitating abortion travel for female military members as a step to undermine the reversal of Roe v. Wade. It also said it will “develop a program to reimburse applicable fees, as appropriate and consistent with federal law, for Department of Defense health care providers who wish to become licensed in a different state than that in which they are currently licensed.”
The memo argued that the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs poses new challenges to obtaining an abortion for its female soldiers, given that some Republican-led states have imposed restrictions on the procedure and “will interfere with our ability to recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force.”
In anticipation of objections to the military’s new policy, the department assured that it has long offered contraception and family planning services to its service members. The DoD also plans to “conduct a comprehensive contraception education campaign” to make female service members aware of the resources at their disposal to prevent pregnancy. The direction was given by Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“Our greatest strength is our people,” he said. “There is no higher priority than taking care of our people, and ensuring their health and well-being. The Department of Defense will continue to closely evaluate our policies to ensure that we continue to provide seamless access to reproductive health care as appropriate and consistent with federal law.”
The Pentagon’s action comes after President Biden revealed in a recent interview that he would like to see the creation of a federal fund to cover costs associated with abortion, including time off work, travel, and childcare.
“The answer is absolutely,” Biden said: “I do support that, and I’ve publicly urged companies to do that. I’ve urged them publicly as president of the United States saying, ‘This is what you should be doing,’” Biden says in audio obtained by Axios.