Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
BISMARCK — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and his Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Republican colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin urging him to rescind a new agency policy facilitating abortions. Specifically, DOD will cover travel expenses, including transportation, lodging, and meal costs, for military personnel seeking abortions within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“The policies the Department of Defense announced on February 16, 2023, are a blatant attempt to circumvent numerous federal statutes that distance the military from abortion-related decisions,” wrote the Senators. “Namely, it would force taxpayers to subsidize abortions by paying for service members or their dependents to travel to obtain the procedure and by granting additional leave for this purpose. The Department of Defense’s actions tell our service members pregnancy is a liability to the force. They also imply our military’s success hinges on access to abortion. The former is a mistake; the latter is false.”
Joining Senator Cramer are Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO).
Click here to read the letter.
Background:
In July 2022, Senator Cramer sent a letter to Secretary Austin in response to an assertion by a top DOD official, who said the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision will have “significant implications” for the “readiness of the Force.”