The Department of Defense has announced that it will stop reimbursing service members for traveling out of state to access reproductive health services, including abortions and fertility treatments. A recent memorandum outlines this shift in policy, which appears to eliminate a provision established during the Biden administration in October 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to heightened restrictions across multiple states regarding abortion.
The memo, signed by Jeffrey Register, head of the Pentagon’s human resources division, simply states the retraction of the previous regulation without elaborating further. When inquired whether service members could still take time off to travel at their own expense for these services, the department did not provide an immediate response.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the change in policy as “shameful.” She stated, “Our service members go wherever they need to in order to bravely serve our country— and because President Trump’s extremist Supreme Court overturned Roe, where they and their families are stationed quite literally dictates their access to critical reproductive care.” She further accused the former president of disregarding servicemembers, particularly servicewomen, for political reasons, adding that this decision undermines the safety of both the servicemembers and the nation overall.
The reimbursement policy had initially been put in place under then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in October 2022. Its purpose was to ensure that troops stationed in states with restrictive abortion laws or limited healthcare services like in vitro fertilization could access necessary reproductive health options.
As of the latest updates, the Defense Department has been unable to provide an account of how frequently the reimbursement program had been utilized or the associated costs. However, in a prior report from March, officials indicated that the policy had been invoked by servicemembers and their dependents only 12 times from June to December 2023, with a collective expense of about $40,000 covering travel, lodging, and meals. Notably, the reimbursement policy did not include coverage for abortion procedures, and details on whether those 12 trips were specifically for abortions or other reproductive health services remain confidential due to health privacy laws.
Previously, Austin highlighted concerns among service members and their families regarding equitable access to healthcare, including reproductive services. He noted that frequent relocations due to military duties could compel service members to travel longer distances to find necessary care, consequently requiring more time off work and increased expenses.
Austin emphasized that such hardships could hinder the military’s ability to recruit, retain, and maintain a highly qualified force. The original directive intended to permit troops and their family members, in line with federal law, to take time off and utilize official travel to seek reproductive care unavailable in their local areas, including options like in vitro fertilization.
According to federal regulations, military medical facilities are permitted to perform abortions only when the life of the pregnant individual is endangered or in cases of rape or incest, occurrences that have been quite rare. The Defense Department reported that between 2016 and 2021, only 91 abortions were conducted in military medical facilities.
