DoD will cover travel expenses for abortion care

Some 80,000 active-duty women are stationed in states with abortion restrictions or bans. That’s 40% of active-duty service women in the continental United States, according to research sponsored by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and released in September. Nearly all (95%) are of reproductive age. Annually, an estimated 2573 to 4126 women have an abortion, but just a handful of those are done at military treatment facilities. Moreover, roughly 275,000 DoD civilians also live in states with a full ban or extreme restrictions on access to abortion. Of those, more than 81,000 are women. Nearly 43% have no access to abortion or drastically abridged access.  

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization has created uncertainty for those women and their families, and potential legal and financial risk for the health care practitioners who would provide reproductive care, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an October 20, 2022 memo.

Therefore, he has directed the DoD to take “all appropriate action… as soon as possible to ensure that our service members and their families can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively.”

Among the actions he has approved: Paying for travel to reproductive health care—essentially, making it more feasible for members to cross state lines. Service members, he noted in the memo, are often required to travel or move to meet staffing, operational, and training requirements. The “practical effects,” he said, are that significant numbers of service members and their families “may be forced to travel greater distances, take more time off from work, and pay more out-of-pocket expenses to receive reproductive health care.” 

Those effects, Austin said, “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.”

Women, who comprise 17% of the active-duty force, are the fastest-growing subpopulation in the military. For the past several years, according to the DoD research report, the military services have been “deliberately recruiting women”—who perform essential duties in every sector: health care and electrical and mechanical equipment repair, for example.

“The full effects of Dobbs on military readiness are yet to be known,” the report says, but it notes several potential problems: Women may not join the service knowing that they could end up in a state with restrictions. If already serving, they may leave. In some states, women face criminal prosecution.

The long arm of Dobbs reaches far into the future, too. For instance, if unintended pregnancies are carried to term, the DoD will need to provide care to women during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period—and the family will need to care for the child. Looking only at women in states with restricted access or bans, the DoD estimates the number of unintended pregnancies annually would be 2800 among civilian employees and between 4400 and 4700 among active-duty service women.

Men are also directly affected: More than 40% of male service members are married to a civilian woman who is a TRICARE dependent, 20% of active-duty service women are married to a fellow service member, and active-duty service men might be responsible for pregnancies among women who are not DoD dependents but who might be unable to get an abortion, the DoD report notes.

Austin has directed the DoD to create a uniform policy that allows for appropriate administrative absence, to establish travel and transportation allowances, and to amend any applicable travel regulations to facilitate official travel to access noncovered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of the service member’s permanent duty station.

So that health care practitioners do not have to face criminal or civil liability or risk losing their licenses, Austin directed the DoD to develop a program to reimburse applicable fees, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law, for DoD health care practitioners who wish to become licensed in a state other than that in which they are currently licensed. He also directed the DoD to develop a program to support DoD practitioners who are subject to adverse action, including indemnification of any verdict, judgment, or other monetary award consistent with applicable law.

“Our greatest strength is our people,” Austin wrote. “There is no higher priority than taking care of our people, and ensuring their health and well-being.” He directed that the actions outlined in the memorandum “be executed as soon as possible.”

Some 80,000 active-duty women are stationed in states with abortion restrictions or bans. That’s 40% of active-duty service women in the continental United States, according to research sponsored by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and released in September. Nearly all (95%) are of reproductive age. Annually, an estimated 2573 to 4126 women have an abortion, but just a handful of those are done at military treatment facilities. Moreover, roughly 275,000 DoD civilians also live in states with a full ban or extreme restrictions on access to abortion. Of those, more than 81,000 are women. Nearly 43% have no access to abortion or drastically abridged access.  

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization has created uncertainty for those women and their families, and potential legal and financial risk for the health care practitioners who would provide reproductive care, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an October 20, 2022 memo.

Therefore, he has directed the DoD to take “all appropriate action… as soon as possible to ensure that our service members and their families can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively.”

Among the actions he has approved: Paying for travel to reproductive health care—essentially, making it more feasible for members to cross state lines. Service members, he noted in the memo, are often required to travel or move to meet staffing, operational, and training requirements. The “practical effects,” he said, are that significant numbers of service members and their families “may be forced to travel greater distances, take more time off from work, and pay more out-of-pocket expenses to receive reproductive health care.” 

Those effects, Austin said, “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.”

Women, who comprise 17% of the active-duty force, are the fastest-growing subpopulation in the military. For the past several years, according to the DoD research report, the military services have been “deliberately recruiting women”—who perform essential duties in every sector: health care and electrical and mechanical equipment repair, for example.

“The full effects of Dobbs on military readiness are yet to be known,” the report says, but it notes several potential problems: Women may not join the service knowing that they could end up in a state with restrictions. If already serving, they may leave. In some states, women face criminal prosecution.

The long arm of Dobbs reaches far into the future, too. For instance, if unintended pregnancies are carried to term, the DoD will need to provide care to women during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period—and the family will need to care for the child. Looking only at women in states with restricted access or bans, the DoD estimates the number of unintended pregnancies annually would be 2800 among civilian employees and between 4400 and 4700 among active-duty service women.

Men are also directly affected: More than 40% of male service members are married to a civilian woman who is a TRICARE dependent, 20% of active-duty service women are married to a fellow service member, and active-duty service men might be responsible for pregnancies among women who are not DoD dependents but who might be unable to get an abortion, the DoD report notes.

Austin has directed the DoD to create a uniform policy that allows for appropriate administrative absence, to establish travel and transportation allowances, and to amend any applicable travel regulations to facilitate official travel to access noncovered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of the service member’s permanent duty station.

So that health care practitioners do not have to face criminal or civil liability or risk losing their licenses, Austin directed the DoD to develop a program to reimburse applicable fees, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law, for DoD health care practitioners who wish to become licensed in a state other than that in which they are currently licensed. He also directed the DoD to develop a program to support DoD practitioners who are subject to adverse action, including indemnification of any verdict, judgment, or other monetary award consistent with applicable law.

“Our greatest strength is our people,” Austin wrote. “There is no higher priority than taking care of our people, and ensuring their health and well-being.” He directed that the actions outlined in the memorandum “be executed as soon as possible.”

Some 80,000 active-duty women are stationed in states with abortion restrictions or bans. That’s 40% of active-duty service women in the continental United States, according to research sponsored by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and released in September. Nearly all (95%) are of reproductive age. Annually, an estimated 2573 to 4126 women have an abortion, but just a handful of those are done at military treatment facilities. Moreover, roughly 275,000 DoD civilians also live in states with a full ban or extreme restrictions on access to abortion. Of those, more than 81,000 are women. Nearly 43% have no access to abortion or drastically abridged access.  

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization has created uncertainty for those women and their families, and potential legal and financial risk for the health care practitioners who would provide reproductive care, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an October 20, 2022 memo.

Therefore, he has directed the DoD to take “all appropriate action… as soon as possible to ensure that our service members and their families can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively.”

Among the actions he has approved: Paying for travel to reproductive health care—essentially, making it more feasible for members to cross state lines. Service members, he noted in the memo, are often required to travel or move to meet staffing, operational, and training requirements. The “practical effects,” he said, are that significant numbers of service members and their families “may be forced to travel greater distances, take more time off from work, and pay more out-of-pocket expenses to receive reproductive health care.” 

Those effects, Austin said, “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.”

Women, who comprise 17% of the active-duty force, are the fastest-growing subpopulation in the military. For the past several years, according to the DoD research report, the military services have been “deliberately recruiting women”—who perform essential duties in every sector: health care and electrical and mechanical equipment repair, for example.

“The full effects of Dobbs on military readiness are yet to be known,” the report says, but it notes several potential problems: Women may not join the service knowing that they could end up in a state with restrictions. If already serving, they may leave. In some states, women face criminal prosecution.

The long arm of Dobbs reaches far into the future, too. For instance, if unintended pregnancies are carried to term, the DoD will need to provide care to women during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period—and the family will need to care for the child. Looking only at women in states with restricted access or bans, the DoD estimates the number of unintended pregnancies annually would be 2800 among civilian employees and between 4400 and 4700 among active-duty service women.

Men are also directly affected: More than 40% of male service members are married to a civilian woman who is a TRICARE dependent, 20% of active-duty service women are married to a fellow service member, and active-duty service men might be responsible for pregnancies among women who are not DoD dependents but who might be unable to get an abortion, the DoD report notes.

Austin has directed the DoD to create a uniform policy that allows for appropriate administrative absence, to establish travel and transportation allowances, and to amend any applicable travel regulations to facilitate official travel to access noncovered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of the service member’s permanent duty station.

So that health care practitioners do not have to face criminal or civil liability or risk losing their licenses, Austin directed the DoD to develop a program to reimburse applicable fees, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law, for DoD health care practitioners who wish to become licensed in a state other than that in which they are currently licensed. He also directed the DoD to develop a program to support DoD practitioners who are subject to adverse action, including indemnification of any verdict, judgment, or other monetary award consistent with applicable law.

“Our greatest strength is our people,” Austin wrote. “There is no higher priority than taking care of our people, and ensuring their health and well-being.” He directed that the actions outlined in the memorandum “be executed as soon as possible.”