The United States Navy scrapped policies covering travel expenses and offering leave for sailors who seek abortions.
The new policy, issued on Feb. 25, said that “taxpayer dollars will not be used to fund, promote, or reimburse Service Members or dependents for elective abortion-related travel expenses.”
The move came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order called “Enforcing the Hyde Amendment” days after his inauguration.
The order nixed “the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”
It thereby ended two orders to that effect from now-former President Joe Biden on increasing access to abortion.
“For nearly five decades, the Congress has annually enacted the Hyde Amendment and similar laws that prevent Federal funding of elective abortion, reflecting a longstanding consensus that American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for that practice,” the order said.
“However, the previous administration disregarded this established, commonsense policy by embedding forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a wide variety of Federal programs.”
Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who had previously sought to end military spending on abortions, even holding up 400 military promotions for several months in protest of the policies, said on social media that “zero taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions.”
“I took a lot of heat when I stood alone for nearly a year in holding senior Pentagon promotions over this,” Tuberville recalled.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth affirmed today what I’ve been fighting for since I got to Washington: zero taxpayer dollars should go towards abortion.”
President Trump and Secretary Hegseth affirmed today what I’ve been fighting for since I got to Washington: ZERO taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions.
My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/s3UymYcqQz
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) January 31, 2025
Democratic lawmakers nevertheless reacted extremely negatively to the move.
“Our servicemembers go wherever they need to in order to bravely serve our country — and because President Trump’s extremist Supreme Court overturned Roe, where they and their families are stationed quite literally dictates their access to critical reproductive care,” Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement, according to a report from NBC News.
“Now, Trump is turning his back on our servicemembers — and our servicewomen in particular — to score political points. It’s shameful, and will only make our troops and our nation less safe,” she said.
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who formerly served as a Navy helicopter pilot, also rebuked the new policy.
“This is deeply personal to me,” Sherrill said. “I was stationed in states like Texas and Florida, where I wouldn’t have had healthcare access if I was serving today.”
“Now, I have a daughter in the Navy,” she continued. “We ask our servicewomen to put their lives on the line while serving across the globe to protect our country — they shouldn’t have to risk their lives while stationed in a state with severe abortion bans like Texas or Florida.”
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