The Pentagon's landmark policy supporting military personnel's reproductive healthcare access faces a dramatic reversal under the Trump administration.
According to The Hill, the Defense Department has eliminated a policy that provided travel cost coverage for service members and their dependents seeking out-of-state abortion and reproductive care services, as announced in a Defense Travel Management Office memo released Wednesday.
The policy change marks a significant shift from former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's 2023 initiative, which guaranteed paid leave and travel reimbursement for military personnel stationed in states with restricted abortion access.
This support system was implemented following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ensuring service members could access necessary healthcare regardless of their duty station location.
The policy reversal aligns with President Trump's recent executive order aimed at enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions. The Pentagon's previous stance relied on a Defense Department legal memo from October 2022, which interpreted the law as permitting coverage of incidental expenses like travel costs related to abortion services.
Republican opposition to the original policy culminated in Senator Tommy Tuberville's prolonged protest, during which he blocked military promotions for nearly a year. The Alabama senator maintained that the travel reimbursement policy violated the Hyde Amendment's restrictions, despite the amendment's exceptions for cases involving rape, incest, or life-threatening situations.
The Trump administration has characterized this change as part of a broader effort to eliminate Biden-era social policies that they claim detract from the military's primary defense mission.
A group of 18 Democratic and independent senators, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, have strongly condemned the policy reversal. Senator Shaheen stated:
This decision strips away service members' ability to access the reproductive care they need, which is nothing short of abhorrent. It runs contrary to a core goal of the Department of Defense — to ensure the health and well-being of all our service members so that our force remains ready at all times to protect Americans and keep this nation safe.
The senators emphasized that service members cannot choose their duty stations or the state laws governing their healthcare options. They argue that removing travel support creates unnecessary barriers to essential healthcare access and potentially impacts military readiness.
Critics of the policy change point out that women, who constitute 17 percent of U.S. military personnel, may view this decision as diminishing their value compared to their male counterparts. This concern is particularly relevant given the military's ongoing recruitment and retention challenges.
The Pentagon's elimination of abortion-related travel coverage represents a major shift in military healthcare policy under the Trump administration. The Defense Department has withdrawn support for service members seeking reproductive care across state lines, following pressure from Republican lawmakers and Trump's executive order on the Hyde Amendment enforcement.
The controversial decision has created a sharp divide between Republican supporters who view it as proper enforcement of federal funding restrictions and Democratic opponents who argue it compromises military readiness and healthcare access.
As the policy takes effect, military personnel stationed in states with restricted abortion access must now navigate reproductive healthcare challenges without institutional travel support.
