March 3, 2023 2:20pm EST
Pentagon banned from funding abortion travel for service members under new GOP bill
The Pentagon's policy is expected to take effect in mid-March
By Peter Kasperowicz | Fox News
Dozens of House Republicans this week introduced legislation that would prohibit the Department of Defense from reimbursing service members for travel related to abortion.
After the U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade, the Pentagon said it would help service members in states with strict abortion limits travel to other states and would reimburse them for expenses.
But the bill from Texas Republicans Ronny Jackson and Chip Roy would prohibit the Department of Defense from funding that travel. Jackson said federal policy for decades has been designed to prevent federal funding from being used for abortion services, and said the Pentagon is ignoring that history.
"The Department of Defense’s complete disregard for these longstanding pro-life provisions is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately," Jackson said. "The DoD exists to protect our national security interests and to defend against our enemies, and it has no business using taxpayer dollars to contribute to the demise of the unborn."
"The Biden administration’s flagrantly political decision to create an abortion travel slush fund both flies in the face of current law and violates nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus to protect Americans' conscience rights by preventing taxpayer dollars from funding most abortions," Roy added. "Our military is not a political pawn for the left’s social agenda."
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-banned-from-funding-abortion-travel-service-members-under-new-gop-bill
