House security bill would remove Pentagon’s pregnancy travel policy

House lawmakers are attempting to overturn laws that permit members of the Defense Department to use travel and transport concessions and leave to seek reproductive care for themselves or their children. House lawmakers added a provision to the governmental 2025 security appropriations bill that restricts federal workers ‘ entitlements to depart and reimbursement for abortion or related procedures while the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade is also settling two years later. On Friday, the$ 833 billion bill was approved in a 217- 199 voting. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-TX, who led that article to the defence bill, claimed that” Biden’s Department of Defense is using taxpayer dollars to finance time out, lodging, and travel expenses for democratic abortions. This is directly against the long-standing Hyde Amendment in yet another attempt to promote abortion.” Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a letter in 2022 that would allow service members to obtain reproductive health care or provide for a contingent who needed it for three weeks without paying the keep balance. Following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization’s historic legal security, states began introducing policy to restrict abortion. As of April, 41 claims have some kind of pregnancy restraint in position, 14 of which are a complete ban, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research firm that activists for reproductive rights worldwide. The benefit in question only reimburses travel expenses to access otherwise unrestricted reproductive health care services; it does not reimburse for the actual procedures using government funds. Additionally, the policy permits leave for appointments that might be related to infertility treatments. On Thursday, Senate Republicans blocked a sweeping bill that would’ve made IVF more affordable and accessible to veterans, service members and feds. The Pentagon released figures for the department’s use of the travel policy for abortion since it was in place in March. Between June and December 2023, the policy was used 12 times across the services, costing roughly$ 45, 000. Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary for the Pentagon, said at the time that individuals who have used the policy more than once might be included. The amendment attempts to outlaw any upcoming regulations with the same goal while overriding the 2022 memo that established these policies. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the bill advances Republicans ‘ goal of making abortion illegal in the country by making it more difficult for women to get pregnant in our military. No woman should be allowed to make decisions about her health care or family planning, especially those who have sacrificed their lives to defend all Americans ‘ freedoms and rights, as the House has done. Before the spending bill can become law, both chambers must come to terms with their differences. About Molly Weisner Staff Reporter for the Federal Times covers labor, policy, and contracting issues affecting the government workforce. She previously worked as a digital producer at USA Today and McClatchy before beginning her copy editing career at The New York Times. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mary majored in journalism. Load More