A Biden administration policy that provided reimbursement to military members and dependents for travel to states that allow abortion and other reproductive health treatments has been revoked by the Pentagon.
The document, which immediately stopped reimbursements, was released by the Pentagon’s Defense Travel Management Office on Wednesday.
The action undoes a 2023 policy implemented under then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and it is already attracting criticism from female members of Congress. For soldiers and their families who had to traverse state lines because they were stationed in a location where the military did not offer abortion or other reproductive care, like in vitro fertilization, or where such services were illegal or unavailable, the program granted paid leave and travel reimbursement.
Republicans at the time said the action was an attempt to get around federal regulations that forbid funding abortions with public funds. For months, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., protested the program by delaying more than 400 military promotions.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth affirmed today what I’ve been fighting for since I got to Washington: ZERO taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions,” Tuberville wrote on X, applauding the Defense Department’s decision.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week on the Hyde Amendment’s enforcement, which aims to stop federal funds from being used to encourage abortion, according to the Pentagon letter.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, stated on Friday that the action reduces the safety of the troops and the country.
In a statement, Warren said, “Our service members bravely serve our country wherever they must go, and because President Trump’s extremist Supreme Court overturned Roe, their access to critical reproductive care is literally dictated by where they and their families are stationed.” In order to get political points, Trump is now abandoning our service troops, and our servicewomen in particular. It is dishonorable and will only reduce the safety of our troops and our country.
According to defense authorities, very few soldiers and families have really taken use of this privilege.
However, veteran U.S. Navy helicopter pilot Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., stated that the decision may potentially put women’s lives in jeopardy.
For me, this is really personal. If I were serving now, I wouldn’t have had access to healthcare in places like Texas and Florida, where I was stationed. “Now,” Sherrill added in a statement, “I have a daughter in the Navy.” Our servicewomen risk their lives while serving all around the world to defend our nation, but they shouldn’t have to do so while stationed in a state like Texas or Florida that has strict abortion restrictions.