Republican lawmakers are working on an amendment to a Department of Defense spending bill that would block the Pentagon's new policy that funds abortion travel expenses.
According to The Christian Post, in late October, US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter saying that Service members would be reimbursed for travel costs if they needed to travel out of state for an abortion.
Austin said the policy would "ensure that our Service members can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively."
Meanwhile, critics have pushed back against the policy from Austin, which he says is necessary in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said in a tweet that he would support an amendment to block the policy, adding that he couldn't believe the department would consider using tax dollars to "improperly" fund abortion travel.
Said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., in a statement: "I am deeply disappointed that the Department of Defense has allowed President [Joe] 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."
Marjorie Dannenfelser of the national grassroots pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America previously said in a statement she believed the policy was unlawful.
"The Biden administration will stop at nothing to impose abortion on demand until birth nationwide, paid for by taxpayers, no matter what laws they have to ignore or rewrite," she said.
The proposed spending bill has already been approved by the House in a bipartisan vote, but it will still need approval in the Senate before becoming a law.
The amendment to block the Department of Defense policy hasn't been introduced, but political experts estimate that Republicans could try for a vote after the midterm elections.
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Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
