President Joe Biden has made it a top priority to use any and all administrative means to promote and fund pregnancies with taxpayer funds since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
No other relevant decision received more attention than Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin‘s news that the Defense Department do essentially use tax funds to pay for travel for abortions. A fresh Pentagon report reveals that the Biden administration’s go coverage for services members and children was only used once between June and December.
However, Defense Department officials acknowledge that they did n’t begin tracking travel under the year-old policy until August and that they were n’t able to gather any data from March through May.
Additionally, Pentagon officials point out that it’s unclear whether any of the 12 outings truly involved abortion because the policy may also be applied to various fertility-related medical services.
And the reporting merely records how many journeys were made from military installations to out-of-state destinations, not how many people actually used the plan.
Some more history is important. The Pentagon previously announced it had started providing additional paid keep and full protection of airlines, hotels, and meals for service members and their dependents traveling abroad for democratic abortions. The public debate started in February 2023.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R- Ala., saw this plan for what it is, a infraction of a historic legislation that prohibits the Pentagon from paying for elective pregnancies. Tilluville made the decision to keep all military campaign votes until the Pentagon revokes the plan.
After some Senate Republicans threatened to collaborate with Democrats to modify Senate rules and pass Tuberville’s controls, the months-long standoff between Tuberville and the Biden administration slowly vanished from public consciousness.
The walk forced Tuberville’s hand and, in December, he decided to lift all remaining keeps on defense offers.  ,
The Pentagon has today released its first reports on how the legislation has been used for the previous year.
The citizens paid$ 44, 791 for the 12 cases that were reported where service members or children received extra paid leave to go abroad for “reproductive health solutions.”
That may not seem like a lot in the great system of federal money, but this percentages about$ 3, 700 for each of the 12 visits. People who used the policy received an additional$ 3, 000 to pay for airfare, lodging, and meals because the average cost of an abortion is between$ 500 and$ 600.
In summary, the Pentagon’s record demonstrates that the Biden administration was hesitant to end hundreds of military campaigns and cause pain to those families because of a 12-time abortion travel ban.
By the Pentagon’s personal entrance, these 12 circular- vacation flights may have been used by only one or two families. According to authorities, they are unsure whether the journeys were connected to pregnancy.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R- Miss., the standing part of the Senate Armed Services Committee, saw this plan as the social prank that it is.
On Wednesday, Wicker sent his third letter in 12 weeks to Austin, seeking info from the defence minister that justifies the Defense Department’s pregnancy vacation plan. The Pentagon has so far provided no convincing argument that the coverage is necessary for military readiness.
Wicker’s other Senate Republican, Tuberville, had given the Biden administration a option: Double down on the need for this policy of taxpayer- supported travel for abortion, and Tuberville’s holds on hundreds of nominees for promotion may be. Or adhere to the law, which forbids the Pentagon from funding elective abortions, and the military promotions could progress.
Austin’s response was to defend the travel ban on abortion, arguing that it is necessary to keep 80, 000 female service members stationed in states that forbid abortion from entering the military.
The Biden administration has the option of eliminating travel expenses for abortion-related expenses while still providing additional leave for services like in vitro fertilization. The Pentagon’s strategy would then be in line with current law.
However, the administration has made the decision to keep a public image that shows that government officials will pay for abortions wherever they can, even if those who may gain from the policy choose not to use them.
All Americans can see the true priority for the Defense Department under Joe Biden: military readiness and fidelity to the law will take a backseat to pro-abortion extremism at all costs thanks to the Pentagon’s report on the abortion travel policy, along with Tuberville’s heroic holds on promotions.
