GOP Lawmaker Warns Defense Secretary ‘You Will Lose’ in Court Fight Over Military Abortion Policy

Representative Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly criticized the new Department of Defense (DoD) policy that permits paying for military service members to travel and receive abortions if they are located in a state where abortion access is restricted. Johnson claimed that the new policy is illegal, and the DoD exceeded its power. During a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Johnson cited Title 10 Section 1093 of the United States Code, which states that DoD funds can only be used for abortions if it is necessary to save the mother’s life or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

According to Johnson, Section 1093 expressly prohibits using any DoD medical facility unless it is essential to save the mother’s life or in case of rape or incest. Johnson accused the military of violating the law during the hearing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and declared that the policy would face legal challenges that it would lose.

Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision in the matter of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled certain portions of the 1973 Roe v. Wade case and authorized States to regulate abortion-related issues that are currently outside federal jurisdiction. About a month and a half later, Austin instructed the DoD to implement a policy to cover travel and transportation expenses for service members and their dependents, where necessary, to receive non-covered reproductive health care, and the military began implementing the policy over the following months.

Austin argues that the military implemented the abortion policy based on sound legal advice, arguing that one in five service members are women, 80,000 of whom are stationed in areas whose citizens face abortion restrictions. Johnson then urged Austin to revoke the policy and claimed that its implementation amounts to a blatant violation of Congress’s statutory law.

Politicized Military

Johnson reiterated the over-politicized nature of the military in his remarks, specifically tying the abortion issue to larger issues with military leadership drawing the military into political debates. Johnson referenced the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s November survey, which revealed that 48% of respondents had “significant confidence” in the military, down from 70% four years earlier. Sixty-two percent of survey respondents stated that they had a specific interest in military leadership staying out of political concerns.