Following October 2022 memo from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on "Ensuring Access to Reproductive Health Care," the Department of Defense has released three official policies that "take a series of actions to ensure Service members and their families are able to access non-covered reproductive health care."
These actions include policies to provide "administrative absence for non-covered reproductive health care" and "travel allowances for non-covered reproductive health care." Essentially, the Biden administration is providing a taxpayer funded workaround to allow service members and their families to obtain non-covered abortions if they are stationed in a state where laws have been passed to protect the unborn.
While DoD still can't use tax dollars to pay for the abortion procedures themselves (outside of existing allowances in the case of rape, incest, or pregnancies that threaten the life of the mother), the new policies mean taxpayers will be funding time off and travel to obtain abortions.
And that has Republican lawmakers in both chamber of Congress warning that Secretary Austin and the Biden administration are overstepping their authority and violating the spirit and letter of established law limiting the use of tax dollars for abortion.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) slammed Secretary Austin for "following through with his radical plan to facilitate thousands of abortions a year with taxpayer dollars," adding that he "will follow through with my plan to hold all Department of Defense (DoD) civilian, flag, and general officer nominations that come before the U.S. Senate."
As I've stated, if Secretary Austin wants to change law, he should go through Congress. This is a severe misuse of taxpayer dollars — and I will hold him accountable. The American people want a military focused on national defense, not facilitating a progressive political agenda.
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) February 17, 2023
Tuberville reminded that "if Secretary Austin wants to change law, he should go through Congress," and the new DoD policies are "an illegal expansion of DoD authority and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars — and I will hold him accountable. The American people want a military focused on national defense, not facilitating a progressive political agenda," Tuberville noted.
In the House, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) — who serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee — said that the new policies mean "the Biden administration chose to make the Department of Defense an abortion travel agency over a lethal fighting force."
Our brave military is here to protect our freedom and our nation. It is not meant to advance the woke, Socialist Biden agenda, and it is certainly not meant to pay for abortion on demand. Joe Biden is a disgrace to our nation. https://t.co/VXAyMrm76L
— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) February 17, 2023
Rogers added that he has "repeatedly" warned the Biden administration that "taking this action jeopardizes congressional authorizations for our warfighters" and that he is "extremely disappointed the Biden administration chose once again to use our military to placate the radical left."