Pentagon ends policy that helped troops access abortions

by W.G. DUNLOP

The Pentagon has quietly scrapped a policy that assisted troops who needed to travel to receive reproductive health care including abortions, a US defense official said Friday.

President Donald Trump's new administration has taken aim at multiple military policies opposed by Republicans, including seeking to end "transgender ideology" in the armed forces and to reinstate troops dismissed for refusing Covid vaccines.

The end of the reproductive health care policy took effect earlier this week, the defense official said, without providing details on the decision.

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While the policy has been contentious, it was only used a limited number of times -- 12 -- at a cost of less than $45,000 between June and December 2023, the only time frame for which figures were released by the Pentagon.

The US Supreme Court in 2022 struck down the nationwide right to abortion, meaning troops stationed in states that restricted or banned the procedure must take leave and travel to areas where it is legal to obtain one.

The Defense Department responded by permitting service members to take administrative absences to receive "non-covered reproductive health care," and establishing travel allowances.

- Security held 'hostage' -

The policy drew fire from Republicans, especially Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach who sought to delay the approval of hundreds of senior military officers' promotions in response.

At the top of the US armed forces, Tuberville's actions led to three officers serving as the acting heads of military branches and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff while also performing their previous jobs as deputy service chiefs.

Tuberville eventually backed down, but US officials have said his "hold" on promotions caused significant disruption.

The senator hailed the end of the policy, saying Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had secured "what I've been fighting for since I got to Washington: ZERO taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions."

Hegseth responded to Tuberville's post on social media site X, saying: "Thank you for your leadership, Coach."

Others were opposed to the change, including Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The end of the policy "will harm the health and wellbeing of our service members and does nothing to support our military readiness," Shaheen said on X.

Senator Tammy Duckworth -- who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq -- slammed Tuberville in a post on X.

"You held our national security and military readiness hostage for 9 months over this compassionate policy," said Duckworth, another Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.