The Pentagon is seen on Oct. 21, 2021. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced troops and military families can still receive a travel stipend to seek reproductive health care, such as in vitro fertilization, for the purpose of getting pregnant.
The original policy allowed service members to take up to three weeks of leave and receive a travel stipend to cross state lines to seek reproductive health services, including abortions, in vitro fertilization, sperm collection, ovarian stimulations and egg retrieval. The policy was revoked in a Jan. 29 memo to bring the Pentagon in line with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that bars the use of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion services. The policy was effective immediately.
The updated policy from the Defense Travel Management Office announced in a memo dated Feb. 4 states the revocation of the prior policy “should not be interpreted as the elimination of access to non-covered assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization.”
If timely assisted reproductive health care for the purpose of conceiving a baby is not available within the local area of a service member’s duty station, the military family can receive money for lodging and meals to travel to the next closest and capable medical facility, according to the memo.
The original policy was put in place in March 2023 by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to access abortion services. Following the ruling, states were able to establish their own abortion laws. The policy was meant to enable troops assigned to states with strict reproductive health care laws to travel to states with less restrictive laws.
The Pentagon said, from June 2023 to December 2023, the policy was used 12 times to cover leave and travel for reproductive services at a cost of $40,791.20. For the privacy of the individuals, the Pentagon did not provide a breakdown of the care each person received, but noted the policy could have been used to travel for abortion services, in vitro fertilization, sperm collection, ovarian stimulations or egg retrieval.
The department on Tuesday was unable to provide an updated count and cost on policy use.
The revised policy is effective immediately and will be in the March 1 edition of the Joint Travel Regulations, which implements policy to establish travel and transportation allowances for service members and Defense Department workers. The Defense Department’s personnel and readiness office initiated the revision, according to the memo.
