The Department of Defense has recently disclosed partial data regarding its policy covering travel expenses for service members seeking abortion services. The policy allowed for administrative absences and provided travel and transportation allowances to grant service members and their dependents access to 'non-covered reproductive healthcare,' which encompasses services such as non-covered abortions and assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization, ovarian stimulations, and egg retrieval.
According to Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh, the policy was utilized 12 times between June and December 2023, with a total cost to the Pentagon of just under $40,800. The figure represents the number of times the policy was utilized, not the number of individuals who availed of it. Specific details about the non-covered reproductive healthcare services utilized were not disclosed due to privacy concerns.
Singh mentioned that the respective services within the DOD were required to submit data by August, with variations in submission timelines resulting in no data being available for the period from January to May 2023. The policy was introduced by the Biden administration following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, sparking controversy and drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers who sought to overturn it.
In February 2023, Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama led a campaign against the policy, blocking President Biden's military nominations in protest of what he deemed as the Pentagon's 'illegal' provision of travel expense reimbursement for service members seeking abortions. The campaign concluded in December, with the policy remaining in effect.
