Defense Department says military will still handle ‘covered’ abortions

The recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade does not prevent the Department of Defense from offering abortions in situations where the mother’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, a DOD undersecretary said in a memorandum issued Tuesday.

“The Supreme Court’s decision does not prohibit the department from continuing to perform covered abortions, consistent with federal law,” said the memo from Gilbert Cisneros Jr., DOD undersecretary of personnel and readiness. “There will be no interruption to this care.”

Federal law restricts the department from covering other types of abortions, Cisneros said.

The memo also noted that it has been the Department of Justice’s policy that states and localities generally may not impose civil or criminal liabilities on federal employees who are doing their jobs in a manner authorized by federal law.

The Supreme Court decision also does not affect military DOD leave policies, Cisneros wrote.

“Existing department policy authorizes active-duty service members to travel as necessary to receive abortion care — either as government funded, official travel for a covered abortion or at the service member’s own expense on regular leave for all other cases,” the memo stated.

“Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our Airmen and Guardians, the civilian workforce, and our families,” the office of the Secretary of the Air Force tweeted late Tuesday. “As we work through how this ruling affects Airmen, Guardians and their loved ones, and we assess the complex implications of this ruling, we will do our best to provide clear and consistent guidance to commanders and service members.”

However, abortions in military facilities are relatively rare. Military facilities completed fewer than 100 abortions in the past five years, according to a DOD report to Congress last month, the Military Times reported Wednesday.

Of the services, patients affiliated with or sponsored by the Air Force have had 20 abortions in military facilities the past five years, the Times said, citing numbers from the report.

Federal law has always distinguished between covered and non-covered abortions, a DOD spokesperson said Wednesday. Care for people in military treatment facilities will not change. If a facility is not nearby, then the DOD will send a member to a place where they can receive care.

The definition of what the department considers a “covered” abortion did not change in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling.

In the case “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” a 6-3 Supreme Court majority Friday returned the question of abortion to state legislatures.

Federal law has always distinguished between covered and non-covered abortions, a DOD spokesperson said Wednesday. Care for people in military treatment facilities will not change.