Pentagon to provide funds, help for troops seeking abortions

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By TARA COPP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will provide travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal, according to a new department policy released Thursday. The military will also increase privacy protections for those seeking care.

The order issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin outlines the rights and protections service members and their dependents will have regardless of where they are based, which was a key concern of troops after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Access to abortion has become a central issue in the midterm elections. President Joe Biden promised this week that the first bill he sends to Capitol Hill next year will be one that writes abortion protections into law, if Democrats control enough seats in Congress to pass it.

And he said, in a forum with NowThis News, that he would support a federal fund to reimburse some costs for those who have to travel for the procedure.



Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Washington. The Pentagon will provide travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal, according to a new department policy released Thursday. The military will also increase privacy protections for those seeking care. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-lloyd-austin-government-and-politics-dc6a0317775596ffc7945acc79b7559e

[BOSSHOG]

1. Thank You DOD

Another example of the burden conservative depravity inflicts upon our country.

Another example of MAGAs not supporting the troops (making this action having to be taken)

States Rights means only one thing - Slavery.

Thx for posting Steve.

[Lovie777]

2. Expect 4 triilon lawsuits.....

[iluvtennis]

3. Great news! n/t

[Roxi]

4. I worry about female service members

While I strongly support this policy, I am still worried about the local chain of command in regards to servicewomen who need this.

The services are still struggling to effectively deal with sexual assault. How are they going to protect someone who needs to leave the base to travel to another state for an abortion?

There are too many conservatives and evangelicals in positions of power in the military. In reality, I don’t think it matters what the DoD’s official policy says.

There will be at least one woman who loses her career opportunities in the military as soon as she has to use this benefit.

All it would take is an asshole chief or commander being offended that one of their subordinate troops has suddenly left work, and the local area, for medical reasons for there to be a problem that ruins the woman’s career.

What should be a private matter could easily become gossip or even a confirmed fact in the squadron/company/etc. Her performance reviews could be scored too low for her to be promoted; those typically require 2-3 others to concur, but people in power have ways to make sure they can do damage. She could be assigned the worst duties and shifts, or not trusted to do her job. She could be bullied, sexually harassed, or completely ostracized.

I absolutely hate that it’s come to this. I hope I’m wrong and that this policy goes into effect without a hitch. I guess we’ll see.

[OtterDave]

5. It's cheaper to the military to provide

Fly her to get abortion VS all the expenses of a baby + loss of time.
Why is everyone here praising the military all the sudden?

[Roxi]

8. Not my point

You are right that it makes fiscal sense to help a pregnant woman get an abortion, should she choose to do so.

I am more concerned about her colleagues and her chain of command. It would not take much for them to put the pieces together, and her career could suffer if she’s unlucky enough to be surrounded by people offended by her choices.

[Tree Lady]

13. I understand this because my son n law

Officer in AF lived off base to keep being atheist secret worried it would effect his career advancement, that's pretty sad and so wrong. Same with abortion.

[Corgigal]

6. They either can give you pills from the pharmacy,

or you catch a hop to where it can be done.

Military can handle this fine. No one’s business.

[Roxi]

9. That's the problem I'm concerned about

This is not going to be a secret. This is not going to be that simple.

I agree that a military base pharmacy can certainly provide the pills, despite the state’s restrictions, since the base is federal property. I do expect there to be some pushback in states like Texas, though. (We can’t close every single base there, so they are the most likely state to fight over abortions being performed on bases there.)

Catching a hop is certainly something that can be arranged, but a female service member being added to a flight that just happens to be going to a state that allows abortion is not going to be seen as some random occurrence.

My point is that her business will not remain private. Someone will talk, and I feel it’s very likely that her career will be damaged by the gossip in some way. There are plenty of males in the military who strongly believe women don’t belong there, and this just gives them another way to punish women for invading what they believe to be their territory.

[Corgigal]

12. I was in the USAF,

a woman, who got pregnant by my live in boyfriend.

I was offered everything, they were professional. They asked if I wanted to catch a hop and they would fly me to Ohio. Pills weren’t available then.

We decided to get married and I gave birth to my oldest daughter.

Never guarantees in this life. Military can step up, and then as now, it’s your choice. I use the V.A for my thyroid condition and they are always good to me. Medications arrive on time. I wish all Americans could try socialized medicine for a little while so they could decide which way to go. I might go private soon, or just stay where I am.

This is not always how the military handles sex criminal cases, but this is a medical procedure. Different.

[slightlv]

7. You're right, in that they can't deal with sexual assault yet.

Every year, we'd have training on this. One year, we broke up into (fairly large) groups in separate rooms to debate changes that could make a difference. I (female, AF Vet) was very vocal about taking it from the first complaint OUT of the military's milieu and, instead, taking it civil authorities. You would not believe the railing against that suggestion! There were some legitimate issues about it brought up, but to this day, I think taking any sexual situations out of the military's discretion is the best way for women to get response. Although I will say I've gotten less enamored as our police authorities let rape kits languish and the whole "it's the woman's fault" again becomes the default thinking for male police officers.

[Roxi]

10. My experience is similar

I’m also a female AF vet. The mandatory sexual assault briefings were a step in the right direction, but in my experience, many of the men just didn’t understand the necessity.

To be honest, a lot of women didn’t understand, either. One female briefer was completely confused by a slide saying marital status didn’t matter; I guess she had no idea that marital rape exists and is a significant problem.

Many of us were subjected to harassment, whether subtle or overt, and no matter how offensive we found it, it was easier to ignore it or laugh along with the guys than to call them out on their behavior. I never, ever saw men calling out their peers over it, either, even when I could see that they didn’t approve.

This is why I’m worried about women having to trust their chain of command if they need to travel to another state for an abortion.

What happens if her chain of command does not support her decision to get an abortion? Sure, DoD regulations give her the right to do this, but that doesn’t mean her commander can’t find a way to make her suffer for it.

I just don’t trust any of this. I believe women should be able to make these decisions, but I don’t trust the consequences that are possible should the woman be unlucky enough to have an anti-choice person in her chain of command.

[Shipwack]

11. I applaud this, but what about the Hyde Amendment?

Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2022, 01:08 PM - Edit history (1)

I thought the Hyde Amendment, which is attached to every military budget, says that military funds can not be used to facilitate abortions...

Edited to add::

After sufficient caffeination, I did a bit of research, and found that the DOD is merely paying for transportation, not the cost of the actual procedure, so they feel the Hyde Amendment is not violated.

I'm leaving the original reply up in case anyone else had a similar question.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. 'Desperate campaign tactic': Top Republican rips Pentagon's new abortion policy

The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee chided the Pentagon on Friday after it announced that it will help pay for troops' travel to obtain abortions.

-snip-

“I am deeply disappointed that the Department of Defense has allowed President Biden to blatantly misuse the United States Military for political purposes," Rogers said in a statement. "Yesterday’s memo from DoD, released nearly two weeks before the election, is a desperate campaign tactic that undermines the core mission of our military."

Austin's memo establishes travel and transportation allowances for military personnel and dependents who seek abortions but are forced to travel because they are stationed in states where the procedure is banned.

The new policy will not cover the cost of abortions, and federal law prohibits the Defense Department from paying for the procedure or performing it at its medical facilities in most cases.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/desperate-campaign-tactic-top-republican-rips-pentagon-s-new-abortion-policy/ar-AA13ewup

Fuck you peckerwood.