Sarah Moore, deputy director of the Defense Travel Management Office, issued a memo Wednesday, according to The Hill, which strikes paragraph 033013 from the Pentagon’s Joint Travel Regulations that allowed service members “to access lawfully available noncovered reproductive healthcare regardless of where they are stationed.” The memo said the change took effect Tuesday.
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued the controversial directive in October 2022, providing travel funds and support for service members and their dependents who seek abortions and are based in states where the practice is restricted. The move came following the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that ended the federal right to an abortion.
Republicans complained the policy violated the Hyde Amendment, a 1977 law that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape and incest, and to save the life of the mother.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., proceeded to block military promotions in the Senate for nearly a year to protest the policy, arguing it was a violation of the Hyde Amendment.
Moore said in the memo the policy change is aligned with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Enforcing the Hyde Amendment,” issued Jan. 24 that strikes down two executive orders by President Joe Biden in 2022 over securing and protecting access to reproductive healthcare services in a “wide variety of federal programs.”
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who served 10 years in the Navy, criticized the Pentagon’s decision to rescind the policy.
