Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the Pentagon to set up a travel reimbursement plan for members of the US armed forces and their family members who must travel to another state to get an abortion if their home state makes the medical procedure impossible to access, Politico reports.
“Our Service members and their families are often required to travel or move to meet our staffing, operational, and training requirements. Such moves should not limit their access to reproductive health care,” Austin wrote, noting that the Supreme Court overturning the Roe decision harms military readiness as members of the military and their families do not have an available standard of care across the United States. “In my judgment, such effects qualify as unusual, extraordinary, hardship, or emergency circumstances for Service members and their dependents and will interfere with our ability to recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force.”
The new policy does not provide for the military to pay for the abortion itself, but it directs the various branches of the service to establish travel and transportation allowances that military families can access to pay for travel, lodging and other necessities while they find a medical services provider in another state.